


Super Dangan Ronpa Collection

by Waitlist



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Alternate Universe - Pride and Prejudice Fusion, Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, M/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2018-06-04 06:05:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6644302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waitlist/pseuds/Waitlist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short bits and pieces, old and new, from my Tumblr. Most are requests, or snippets of unfinished multichap.<br/>Ships/AUs in each chapter title. Sometimes updated. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Komahina - Modern

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of these are fairly old (2013/14) so excuse some old bad writing habits. Feel free to bug me to finish anything! I'm definitely getting back into the swing of SDR2/NDRV3, so hopefully lots more can be added. Thanks!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: A gets into a cab only to find someone else is already inside

The rain outside had started turning thunderous, and Hajime’s suit had seen better days. He was holding his case above his head, a futile attempt to stay dry, while searching frantically for a cab to hail. When he saw one slow to a stop across the road, he ran to it and jumped inside, slamming the door behind him.

The first thing Hajime noticed was that he had almost immediately dumped his dripping case on the lap of a stranger. Fumbling for the handle, Hajime stammered an apology.

“O-oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise there was someone sitting there…I’m sorry, I’ll get the next one…”

The second thing Hajime noticed was the gloved hand that came to rest on his shoulder. He followed the green sleeve up to a fluffy white head, bearing a cheery expression from a man who couldn’t’ve been much older than Hajime. The bright smile matched a smooth voice.

“It’s alright. We can pass by wherever you’re going, then split the bill,” the stranger suggested. Hajime nodded hesitantly; anything for not going back outside. The man took his hand from his shoulder and called to the driver.

“Excuse me, could we take a small detour? This man has somewhere to be,” he said, still smiling. When the driver agreed, Hajime gave his address and some directions. The traffic began to move again and he relaxed into his seat. A moment passed.

“Sorry, I hope that’s not too far from where you’re going.”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll only be going a mile further.” The white haired man held out his hand, “I’m Nagito Komaeda.”

“Hajime Hinata,” they shook hands, and Hajime took a second to study Nagito. Both his hands had leathery black gloves underneath a long green jacket. It didn’t seem waterproof, yet it wasn’t wet from the rain outside, meaning he’d been in the taxi for some time. His curly white-blonde hair spread out in all directions. Unusually, its pale colour almost blended with Nagito’s skin tone. While such pale skin would seem unhealthy on anyone else, it only made his appearance brighter and his eyes greener. Hajime admitted to himself that this man was attractive, but his unwavering smile was becoming unnerving.

“Am I right in saying that you were at a job interview?” Nagito asked casually, throwing Hajime off of his observations.

“Y-yes, I was. How could you tell?”

“Your suit is new but the case is old,” He gestured to Hajime as if it would help him understand. “New important occasion, but you’ve worked at an office job before.”

“Right…” Hajime shifted uncomfortably. For the first time, Nagito’s smile faltered. Clearly he knew that he’d said too much.

“That, and I, um, work there too. I mean, I knew the interviews were today.”

“I see. Which position do you work?” Hajime said, keeping up the conversation. They might work together, he thought, that would certainly be interesting.

Nagito was thinking something quite similar. “Just office admin in block B.”

“Oh. Well…the vacancy was for-”

“-admin manager. It’s possible we will be working together in the future.”

Both men looked away, avoiding eye contact and staring at something out the window. Why was he so nervous to talk to this guy? After another moment, Hajime spoke up.

“…Only ‘possibly’ though. There’s no telling if I get the job.” At this, Nagito’s smile returned. Hajime couldn’t help smiling at his infectious optimism.

“I have a good feeling about it, Hajime. At least this way, you’ll already know someone there!”

By the time the cab driver had pulled up to Hajime’s road, the two men had talked about anything for a while, but it still felt like time passed too quickly. He opened his wallet, ready to hand over his cash to the driver. But Nagito put his hand up and stopped him.

“Really, don’t worry about it. I can pay easily.”

“Are you sure? It was quite the detour, at least worth…”

“Money isn’t an issue. Actually, I’ll make a deal.” Nagito took some paper from his pocket and wrote something down, before handing it to Hajime. He stared down at it, struck dumb into silence.

“Call me, and consider it paid for.” Hajime continued to stare blankly as he opened the taxi door and climbed out.

“A-alright. Thanks.”

“See you later, Hajime,” Nagito called, forcing himself not to wink. He had never been so smooth before in his life.

“Yeah…” The man standing outside said as the taxi drove away, still clasping the paper in his hand.

The rain snapped him out of his stupor, and he quickly found his house keys to get inside. Within 2 minutes of standing in the hallway, he realised that something was missing. His case! He left it in the taxi after talking to Nagito. Hajime’s heart started to race unwillingly, as he took his phone and the paper in his hands. Looked like he had a reason to call sooner than he planned.


	2. Soudam - Modern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: A is out walking their dog who starts chasing after B’s dog

Rex was Kazuichi’s best friend ever. He was a big, grey, loud dog from the shelter in town, adopted when he was still a puppy. Back then, Kazuichi could hold Rex in his arms like he weighed nothing. But as he grew, he became a fast, tough, excitable ball of energy who loved Kazuichi to pieces. Kazuichi was often asked about Rex’s breed, but he didn’t know or bother to look it up. He was just Rex.

“Come here, boy, that’s it,” Kazuichi said with a whistle, “we’re going out!”

At the key word, Rex’s ears perked and he barked. His pink-haired owner clipped a leash to his collar, and they set out of the door.

They walked their usual route to the park; Kazuichi stopping off at the corner store for a bottle of cola. Upon arriving at the park, Kazuichi gave Rex a pat on the head, and unclipped his leash to watch him sprint off across the grass. With a smile, he sat back on a bench and gulped down his drink.

A few minutes later, a commotion of barking interrupted Kazuichi through the music in his earphones. Pulling them from his ears, he yelled towards the noise.

“Rex? What’s goin’ on, boy?”

Looking closer, Rex seemed to be pouncing on a white yappy dog attached to a large black coat. It took a few seconds for Kazuichi to realise that the black coat was actually a person who was now underneath Rex and receiving a thorough licking.

“Rex!”

He ran towards the tall, sputtering person under his dog, swooping down to quickly snap the leash on Rex’s collar.

“Hey, I’m sorry, Rex is a little excitable when it comes to new people—“

“You have…an exceptionally large…Malinois cross Dane…,” The man said between puffing breaths, attempting to stand up. When he finished brushing himself off and reeling in his yap-dog, Kazuichi raised an eyebrow.

He was taller than Kazuichi, with blondish streaks in his styled hair. The long black coat was accompanied with a purple scarf wrapped several times around the man’s neck. One of his hands, adorned with rings and bracelets, was bandaged up past his sleeve. Kazuichi thought he had a very sharp air of cynicism about him.

“I’ve got a what?“ Was all Kazuichi could say. The two men held their dogs close, despite their noisy barking and pulling on their leashes. With a click of his tongue, the other man’s dog sat beside his heels. Kazuichi was impressed. Maybe he was a dog trainer, the kind who went to national shows. Would explain his fashion sense, he thought with a frown.

"A German Malinois, bred with a large Great Dane, I believe. Could have easily been sold to you as an pure Dane. If you don’t have an eye for pedigrees, that is.”

“Uh, right. He’s a rescue.”

Kazuichi didn’t really want to have a conversation about something he knew nothing about, so he smiled nervously and tugged Rex away with him. However, the man kept talking.

“Ah, it breaks my heart to know that someone would need to rescue such a fine example of man's best friend. I should hope whoever left him behind is suffering. How old was he when he was found?” Some part of Kazuichi agreed with him, despite the strange way he said it.

“I don’t know. They never told me.”

“From the looks of him,” the man reached down to touch Rex’s head with his bandaged hand, “I’d say he’s late 6 or early 7. How long have you had him?”

“6 years. Just a handful when I got him.”

“Difficult to train?”

“Kinda, I guess. He listens to me mosta the time…” The man’s genuine interest was odd, but at the same time, made Kazuichi want to keep talking.

“Of course, it would only take an hour of intense training in the hands of Gundam Tanaka!”

Ok, Kazuichi changed his mind. He tugged Rex back once more, mumbling an excuse and edging back. As if he didn’t realise Kazuichi was trying to leave, the black coated man held out his hand.

“That is I. Gundam Tanaka. Who am I in the service of?”

“Kazuichi,” he sighed and shook Gundam’s hand, “Kazuichi Souda.”

“My current pedigree is a Jack Russell pup. Her mother and father are European award winning. Persephone is her name.” And he kept talking.

“Yeah…hey, I gotta go now, but nice meetin’ ya Gundam. And, uh, Percy-thing.”

“As you and Rex. Oh, before you go!” (Kazuichi almost growled.) “Here is my business card. Should you find yourself in need of an animal trainer, breeder or carer, I am simply the best there is.”

He accepted the card, nodded and gave Rex a last pull on the leash. What a weird guy, Kazuichi thought as they left the park.

~

Kazuichi twisted off his bottle cap with a fizz and unclipped Rex’s leash. The park was quiet today; no kids with footballs, no old ladies with pugs, and no crazy men with business cards. Just Rex dashing across the fields in wide circles, stopping to sniff in random patches. Instead of sitting down, Kazuichi decided to take a walk by the river. Change of scene, he thought.

With a whistle, his dog came running back towards him, “Rex, come on, boy. We’re goin’ this way,” he called as Rex shot past his heels.

The river wasn’t too deep, but it was deep enough for Rex to splash around in. Kazuichi occasionally threw sticks in there to keep him on track, but Rex brought them back and shook the water out of his fur, spraying his owner from the waist down.

They came to a bridge after almost 20 minutes of walking, when Kazuichi noticed Rex was behaving strangely.

“What is it, Rex? Are you hurt?”

The usually boisterous dog was whining with each bark, and refusing to go further than a few metres away from the bridge. Kazuichi knelt down to pat Rex’s neck and check him for injuries. He didn’t cry out at any point, so he figured that something else was bothering him.

Another yelping sound startled Kazuichi, because it hadn’t come from Rex.

“Someone else’s dog?” He asked himself, and listened carefully for it. Soon enough, he heard another cry and Rex answered it with a bark. It sounded as if it was coming from under the bridge. Curiosity got the best of him, and Kazuichi rolled up his jeans and stepped on to the river bank.

There was a large black bag caught under the bridge in debris, a bark came from inside it, and Kazuichi’s heart dropped. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to throw it on to the dry path, and climbed into the river where the water just passed his knees. Someone had put this puppy in the river. You’ve got time to be angry later, he told himself.

It barely took Kazuichi five minutes to retrieve the bag, climb out, open it up and find out what was inside. Not one puppy, but three small, white, wet puppies without collars or tags.

I should hope whoever left him behind is suffering, the words of the weird Gundam man echoed in his head. It gave Kazuichi an idea. He said he was an animal carer, right? His business card was scrunched up in Kazuichi’s pocket, slightly wetter than it was before. With some hesitation, he dialled the number.

“You’ve reached Gundam Tanaka, how may I help you?” He answered after the first two rings.

“Hey, it’s Kazuichi Souda, from yesterday?” He greeted, watching Rex sniff at the puppies, “I met you and your dog, uh, Penelope at the park.”

“Yes, I remember. With the rescue mix.”

“Right, right. Listen, I’ve got a bit of an emergency, if it’s not a bad time.”

“An emergency?” Gundam’s voice became worried, “I am only a breeder, i-if there is a problem with Rex—,”

“No, it’s not him. I’m at the same park, and me and Rex found a bag in the river under the bridge. There’s dogs in it.”

“I-In the bag?”

“Yeah. I just need a little help leashin’ them, and probably cleaning or feeding…” He eyed the puppies’ ribs, deciding it was a bad sign.

“I will be there as inhumanely possible.”

“Alright, bring, uh, dog stuff,” Kazuichi mentioned as Gundam hung up. This is gonna be a long wait, he sighed.

Around ten minutes later, he heard a pair of running footsteps behind him, and Rex went bounding towards them.

“How many are there?” Gundam’s panting voice asked after he silenced Rex with a click.

“Three,” Kazuichi answered, turning to look at Gundam.

His eyebrow raised, but for a better reason than yesterday. Gundam’s highlighted hair wasn’t styled up this time, but flopped down and to the side, though still showing signs of excessive hair gel. He had his scarf and hand wrap on, but the black coat was replaced with a simple white shirt and jeans, making him seem younger. The man noticed Kazuichi scanning him, and pulled the scarf up over his mouth.

“You have caught me in a time where I am not dressed for public appearances,” Kazuichi could swear Gundam was blushing. He snapped himself out of staring.

“Doesn’t matter; just help me with these puppies.”

“Ah yes, of course,” Gundam forgot his clothes and crouched beside Kazuichi to inspect the puppies, which were still crying out and attempting to escape the bag, “Very young Terriers. West Highland Whites, the fur is growing out quickly.”

Using his bandaged hand, he lifted one of them and felt over its whole body, Kazuichi watching with newfound interest.

“Underfed, but not starved. My guess is that they were accidentally bred, and whoever left them here didn’t want to deal with them.” His expression was serious as he unwrapped the scarf from his neck and used it to dry the puppies. Kazuichi felt like he should make a contribution, so he took off his beanie to do the same.

“How long do you think they’ve been here for?”

“I doubt more than 24 hours. I passed by this very bridge yesterday.”

“We- I could take them down to the shelter, they could take a look at them,” Kazuichi suggested.

“Nonsense!” Gundam exclaimed immediately with all three pups bundled in his arms, “We shall take them back to my work place, care for them, name them, and then decide their fates.”

Kazuichi stood, clipping Rex back on the leash. “You want me to go too?”

The other man didn’t hesitate for a second. “Yes. You found them and therefore should take responsibility in seeing their safe return to civilisation.”

“Yeah! O-of course, I wasn’t trying to dump them on you, or anything…”

“And I will need a hand, if you’ve got the time,” Gundam had already begun leading the way back to the park, and Rex was eager to follow him.

~

To call Gundam’s home a ‘workplace’ was a bit of a stretch, Kazuichi thought as he got out of his car and entered the building. An accurate description would be to say that someone had tried to mix an animal day-care, groomer and vets with a normal human house. Truthfully, Kazuichi thought he’d matched his intentions perfectly. There were fish tanks, bird cages, hamster balls and other containers on every surface, a different species to go with each. Rex was tugging to sniff them all. Despite the mix of chirps and squeaks, there was also a couch and TV looking fairly untouched amongst it all. Kazuichi was scared to find out what the garden was like.

“I have one hundred and twenty different house pets in my home, all relying on a single man’s love and care.” Gundam showed Kazuichi to a room with a white table in the centre. He gently put the puppies down on it, and then grabbed three spare collars from a cupboard.

“Is it alright if I let Rex out? He might start barkin’ if we’re in the same room for too long.”

“You’ll find the garden doors beside the stairs,” He didn’t look up from rummaging around in draws. Kazuichi took Rex to the garden, noticing three other dogs outside including the Jack Russell from the park. Rex was more than happy to leave Kazuichi’s side and play.

As he returned from the garden, Gundam had given them each a coloured collar, and set down three small bowls of watery food. Kazuichi found himself smiling as he watched the puppies eat as fast as they could with their tiny teeth. He noticed Gundam doing the same.

“So one-twenty animals, huh? Must be hard work on your own.”

“Caring for my pets is not a task for me, but a lifestyle. Occasionally I look after other people’s animals, but I much prefer raising them from birth.”

“Is that where you get your money from?”

“Mostly. I can never bring myself to charge so much. Care for animals should be given freely where it is needed,” Gundam raised his hand to hold one of the pup’s back paw, “Geneva has a joint problem in her leg.”

“She should see a vet, then.” Kazuichi nodded, before realising, “wait, Geneva? You named them?”

Gundam folded his arms, “Only the two girls. Geneva and Margot. I left the naming of their little brother up to you.”

Kazuichi scratched the back of his head. A boy name for a puppy… He had only ever named Rex, and that wasn’t his most creative idea. Then again, Gundam’s idea of naming was probably a little too creative.

“Uh…What about Winston?”

The other man shrugged, a surprisingly casual gesture, “Winston is wearing the orange collar. You could take him home, if you want.”

“No, I shouldn’t. Rex would go nuts with a puppy around,” Kazuichi definitely wanted to take Winston back home, but what he said was true; raising a puppy from so young would be two handfuls, “Even so, what should we do with them?”

Gundam paused for a moment, thinking deeply and eyeing each of the Westies.

“I will raise them until they are in the prime of their health, then we shall take them to the same shelter that you found Rex.”

“Sounds good to me. They’ll be pretty high maintenance though…Sure it’ll be fine with all the others you got going on?” In reality, he had no doubt that this man would be able to raise the puppies, plus everything else. He just wanted to seem like he cared, maybe even get an invitation to help.

“Aha!” The breeder began, “Have no fear, Kazuichi! They will be in good hands. The best hands such young creatures could be in!” Kazuichi was smiling again after Gundam’s proud declaration.

“I’m glad. Hey, I should probably be going now. Gotta take Rex home for his lunch,” He said while scratching Winston under the chin, “Would it be alright if…I stopped by every now and then? Just to check on the dogs and…,” Kazuichi trailed off, now fiddling with his beanie. Pull yourself together, man!

Gundam seemed equally flustered, which was somewhat comforting to Kazuichi. “Yes, of course. Come as often as you like. It’s natural to want to look after them, since you found them.”

He nodded in agreement, then went to get Rex as Gundam put a bandage on Geneva’s sore leg. Why do I want to visit here? It’s not like I have a real reason to, Kazuichi’s thoughts conflicted with his emotions. Something made him reluctant to leave and eager to return. Like Gundam said, probably natural responsibility for the pups…

“Maybe I’ll see you soon then,” He called from the doorway, holding tight to Rex’s leash. He couldn’t see from where he was, but it sounded like Gundam dropped something and dashed around the table to meet Kazuichi at the door. He continued his increasingly awkward parting.

“I mean, you’ve got my number now, so call me if, uh, you need help with anything. The dogs, or whatever,” Before Kazuichi could cringe at his stuttering words, Gundam nodded enthusiastically.

“There’s always room for an extra pair of hands,” the man paused momentarily, pulling his scarf up over his mouth and looking away, “You could even stop by for lunch, if you felt the urge upon you.”

Okay, that was almost cute, Kazuichi shook away the thought and put on a nervous smile.

“Thanks, Gundam. See you around.”

Rex barked as he shut the door behind him, and a wide grin broke out on his face.


	3. Hinasouda - ModernP&P

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part one of two Modern/college AU plus Pride and Prejudice = soul friends, somehow   
> Although most of this actually looks like Komahina and Sondam. Uhm,

Wherever you go, it’s common knowledge that every male college student wants a girlfriend.

However painfully aware of this his friends were, Hajime didn’t understand the desperation or complexity of it. Shouldn’t it be a simple thing when two people loved each other? Why did his friends spend so much time trying to decide who their next partner would be?

Hajime's best friend Sonia often tried to set him up with a variety of people she knew - both men and women. He didn’t make his sexuality a public thing. Why should anyone beyond his friends bother to know?

“Hey, Hajime! Ready to go?”

He looked up from where he was daydreaming and smiled at the cheerful blonde.

“Yeah. Sorry.” They started to walk the rest of the way to campus. Sonia lived a short walk away from Hajime, and had for their whole lives. The two always managed to end up in the same schools and classes, so had been close friends through childhood. Hajime wouldn’t hesitate to say that Sonia was the sister he never had.

“Have you heard what everyone’s been talking about? Since last night, like, 12 people texted me about it.”

“Hm? What is it?” Of course, he hadn’t heard. He never kept up with social media sites like Sonia did.

“Two new kids have joined the college. In their last year, too! I wonder if they’ll be in any of our classes…”

Hajime raised an eyebrow at her excitement, “What’s so amazing about two transfers?”

“I forget you live under a rock,” Sonia giggled to herself, “It’s Gundam Tanaka and Kazuichi Souda. Have you heard of them?”

He shook his head. The two names were foreign to him.

“They’re really rich, apparently. Like house-party-every-week rich. The Tanaka family owns some corporation, and they adopted Kazuichi when he was 12. He runs a successful mechanics business, and some people say he’s richer than all the Tanakas!”

“Wow, that’s…” Hajime fought down his sarcasm, “Really great. They could be nice.”

“Nice?” Sonia laughed with a spring in her step, “Who cares! I’m going to buy myself three new dresses for the parties they’ll hold. You must come with me.”

“Sure, whatever.” When Sonia brought him to parties, with luck, they weren’t half bad.

* * *

 

Arriving at college, they were greeted by their other close friends. Makoto Naegi was first to spot them, hurrying over to catch up with their social lives and happily complain about school. He was a year below them, but still shone sunshine on their dull days. Peko Pekoyama followed behind him with a quiet smile, nodding her greetings.

“Did you get my text, Sonia?” Makoto asked, “I’ve seen them already!”

“You have? Did you speak to them?”

Hajime had a good idea of who they were talking about, and Peko looked like she did too. While Sonia and Makoto chattered, Hajime stood beside her.

“Tanaka or Souda ring any bells to you?”

“Only Tanaka,” She answered, “They own a chain of pet stores. Souda probably is their little pet.”

Peko turned to face him with an apologetic smile, “Sorry if this is…weird or wrong to you, but…” Her hesitation made Hajime tense up. “I hear the Kazuichi guy has, um, dated guys . I mean…he might…I’m sorry.” She laughed nervously at herself.

“It’s okay. I’m not into bored rich kids with ‘wandering interests’ anyway,” Hajime smiled to comfort her, and she nodded firmly.

“Is that them?” Sonia suddenly spoke up louder, causing the small group to follow her gaze.

Across the hallway, there was a small group of people slowly making their way around. The boys in the centre stuck out of the crowd immediately, despite being surrounded by curious students. Hajime decided he could study them well enough from afar.

The taller one wore a dark coat and a purple scarf, scowling at anyone who wasn’t his companion. He had some weird bandages on his left arm, and an earring glinting in his right ear. Honestly, Hajime was surprised anyone would try to befriend this guy.

The other boy was shorter, but had a very different look and demeanour. His bright pink hair bobbed as he avidly chatted with some girls from Hajime’s class. He wore a yellow jumpsuit, the kind a mechanic would wear. If this is who Peko had mentioned, Hajime considered him decently attractive, but no one to get worked up over.

“I wish I was over there,” Makoto whined, but before Hajime could make a cynical comment, the bell rang.

He and Sonia split off from Makoto and Peko. All the way to class, she talked about when she expected their party to be, and how big their house might be.

Well, how bad could it be?

* * *

 

As if Sonia had mystical party powers, the pseudo-famous Kazuichi and Gundam party was held several weeks later. Apparently the two had invited their own group of friends, and any others they could get their hands on. Makoto had somehow gotten them all invited, according to Sonia. Hajime promised her he would go, so he found himself sitting in her room while she contemplated her appearance. 

“Too much make-up? Bah, who do I need to impress! More gloss, right?”

“Right,” Hajime absently agreed. He was flicking through one of her magazines, briefly scanning the romance and relationships tips page.

“Thinking of anyone in particular?” Sonia nudged him teasingly, “Is it Nagito?”

“N-No!” He shut the magazine and stood up.

He knew she was joking, why was he being so defensive? Hajime had once admitted to Sonia that he had a crush on their fellow student. It happened in their last year of high school, when Nagito had come out as gay. Since college, though, they stopped talking and drifted apart.

“Okay, okay,” She said with a chuckle, “Ready to go?”

“Do you know where this place is?”

“Kind of. Can’t be hard to miss.”

They got in her parent’s car and drove around the streets for a while. In the end, Sonia was right. It wasn’t hard to miss. There were cars and bikes parked everywhere, pretty people gathering to walk up the extensive driveway. Nerves built in Hajime for an unknown reason.

“Look, there’s Makoto!” She pointed out as soon as they parked.

“Hey Hajime, Sonia! Let’s walk there together, yeah?” The boy beamed at them in a red checked shirt and denim shorts. His height made him seem younger than he was, but it didn’t dishearten him when he spoke up to people.

Hajime was surprised when he didn’t recognise many people at all. A few were from college, but besides them, the rest were strangers. He stuck close to Sonia and Makoto.

The large double-door entrance was held open as people filled in and out. The trio made their way inside the heavy darkness, the extreme music ruining any conversation straight away. Coloured lights swayed along people’s bodies, and faces were indistinguishable. This was a lot more intense than any other party even Sonia had been to.

“This is a bit—,” Makoto’s yell was cut off by a girl in heels dancing past him, nearly knocking him over.

“Earns its fame,” Hajime muttered into the pounding atmosphere.

Suddenly, he felt someone grab his arm. Hopefully it was Sonia. He was pulled through hot-skinned teenagers until there was a clearing, and with a glance up he saw long blonde hair and sighed with relief. He let himself be taken into a different room, where the lights were clearer, the music was softer, and there were half the amount of guests. A gift to his senses.

Sonia let go of Hajime’s arm, “Did you grab Makoto? Where is he?”

“Oops,” He offered. In fairness, she hadn’t told him to.

“Oh no,” She smoothed down her dress and hair as she worried, “It was crazy in there.”

“You know him,” Hajime found a place to grab drinks, “He’s probably dancing with the chick who bumped into him right now.”

She smiled and accepted the glass. “I like this room better.”

As Hajime took a proper look around, there were more people from college in this room. Conversations could actually be heard, so a lot of them were socialising. A cluster of students in the corner caught his eye, and was returned with a bright pink gaze. The contact startled him, and he looked back at Sonia.

“Found the hosts of honour,” He directed her towards the group, but as soon as she glanced at them, she sharply turned away.

Sonia answered his questioning look with, “They’re coming over.”

Hajime looked up. The tall and proud Gundam made his way towards them, followed closely by Kazuichi and some other friends of theirs.

“We are standing next to the drinks. They could easily be—,” A shadow loomed over.

“Good evening, fellow students. Are you enjoying yourselves?” Gundam’s previous glower was replaced with an unexpectedly charming smile. Directed towards them. More specifically, at Sonia.

“Y-yes, thanks. You have a very nice house,” She answered awkwardly. Was she blushing?

“It does look best at night, perhaps with less people around,” His deep voice matched his intimidating aura, yet the smile was out of place.

“Oh, I’m Sonia Nevermind. We go to Hope’s college. Me and Hajime, that is,” She glanced towards him for help. He shrugged and smiled back.

“Great party.“

“Good times rely on the people, and the atmosphere.” Gundam nodded, unfazed by the small talk.

“And the drinks!” Sonia burst out, and Gundam seemed thrilled.

The two engaged in a lively conversation about the Tanaka business and college life, so Hajime tuned out. Instead, he fixed his watch on Kazuichi. As if he and Gundam had swapped personalities, the colourful boy was leaning against a wall nearby slowly sipping a can of beer, sporting a frown.

He must’ve felt Hajime’s eyes, because he met with his odd pink gaze. Hajime wanted to look away, but this Kazuichi guy kept staring, Sonia and Gundam oblivious to it all. Kazuichi crushed his empty can and approached, hands in pockets.

“Is she your girlfriend?” He asked bluntly, leading Hajime to frown right back.

“No. I don’t–,” He stopped himself. He was reminded of Peko’s words earlier...

“Believe me, I know you don’t,” He barely heard Kazuichi murmur. Before he could ponder his words, Hajime was called by a familiar voice.

“Hajime! Is Sonia with you? I didn’t even see you go!” Makoto appeared beside him, hands landing heavily on his shoulder. Moments later, he noticed Kazuichi.

“Oh! Sorry, were you in the middle of something?” Hajime began to suspect he’d been drinking.

“No. Enjoy your night,” the pink-haired boy nodded and disappeared through the door Makoto had just entered.

“Weird guy…” Hajime said to himself, then focused on the Makoto hanging off his arm.

“Is that Sonia and Gundam Tanaka?” His mouth fell into an ‘o’ shape, “Are they flirting?”

Hajime shrugged at the possibility, “Probably,” He thought aloud.

“You should come into the other room with me. I just danced with Nagito Komaeda, from high school.”

“You danced with a guy?”

“Come on, Hajime,” Makoto rolled his eyes, “How long have we known each other, and that's what you're asking me?"

“Go get some fresh air, Mako,” Hajime laughed, “Who knows what you’ve been breathing.”

True to his words, Makoto towed Hajime into the gardens. It was worse, however, as they tried to find a clear spot away from the suspicious smoke clouds. Some guests were just smoking cigarettes, but tighter circles could be proven otherwise.

Escaping that, they found themselves back in the loud and dark room. Makoto got lost in the tall crowd again, likely on purpose, Hajime decided. Now to find his way back to the nice room. Which was…where? The lights were disorientating. Waves of pulsing people knocked him around. After more frantic searching, he finally found the yellow light of the doorway. Hajime progressed towards it, ignoring the fingers brushing on his clothes.

He wasn’t paying attention, and something hard caught on his foot, ungracefully knocking him over. Before he hit the ground, a firm hand grasped his arm. Sonia? The hand pulled him up, then pushed his back in the direction of the safe room. Relief flooded through him at the lack of impact, and he quickly turned to see his saviour.

A sharp-toothed grin flashed his way, but merged back into the thick of the party before he could identify it. Oh well. They obviously didn’t expect thanks. Hajime chose to continue to the safe room instead of worrying over it.

“There you are,” Sonia immediately greeted him, and Gundam put a refilled drink in his hand. She was still with this guy? Maybe Makoto had the right idea.

“Yeah,” He sighed, “I lost Makoto again, though.”

Sonia looked surprised, “He was here? I never saw. I need him to meet Gundam.”

“And I don’t suppose you know where Kazuichi could be?”

“No idea. Both went that way,” Hajime gestured behind him into the darker room. He needed to sit down.

“Thank you for talking with me this evening, Sonia. It’s been a pleasure, but I should find my friend,” Gundam’s courtesy was enough to make even Hajime swoon. Sonia caught herself before she sighed longingly, and nodded.

“Right. Good luck.”

They watched his tall back duck into the other room. Sonia grabbed Hajime’s hands as soon as he was gone.

“Wow.”

“Wow?” Hajime responded.

“That is the Gundam Tanaka! Talking to me! With those eyes and that voice…” Sonia dramatically put her hand to her forehead.

Her friend laughed and whistled, “Something tells me you like him.”

“Do you think he likes me too?” Her expression was almost desperate, “I mean, not even in that way, but just as a person?”

Hajime sat down on a free couch and pulled Sonia down next to him, “I think he does.”

* * *

 

Later in the night, Sonia went away somewhere (possibly to find Gundam) and Hajime found himself standing next to Peko in a conversation about video games. They were settled in the doorway of a second garden, one that guests were not allowed in.

“And he just didn’t understand why I like to play those ones in particular. Why should I have to explain myself? To him, especially.”

“Some people just stick their opinions wherever they want. Next time he says that, tell him–,”

Hajime slowed down to a silence when they heard two pairs of steady footsteps crunching through the gravel in the closed-off, empty garden. They couldn’t see who the two people were, but the voices were unmistakable.

“Sonia was perfect company for some time, I wanted to invite her round again. Of course, Hajime was nice too, but–,” Gundam started, cut in by a slightly more slurred voice.

“Which one was Hajime? The short fluffy kid? Or one of the girls I was dancin' with?” Kazuichi’s lazy tone irritated Hajime to no end. Gundam had said a good thing about Sonia, though.

“Neither! Hajime was the man who arrived with her. Do you think…he’s with her?”

“We’re talkin’ about the guy with the…thing on his head?” As Kazuichi said this, Peko snorted beside him, but he ignored her.

“You don’t need to worry about him. He is as straight as a slinky.” The boy in question rolled his eyes.

“Aha, so maybe you were interested in him?” Gundam suggested, putting an incredulous look on both Hajime and Kazuichi’s faces.

“No way. That beansprout? He showed up in a tie.”

Hajime didn’t want to hear the rest. He nudged Peko, and they relocated to a dark corner.

“I honestly don’t believe that guy. You’d think he’s the tolerable one, compared to Gundam on campus,” Peko said straight away to comfort him.

“I guess some people like to play nice guy around college,” He moved the topic away from Kazuichi, “But hey, we should tell Sonia what Gundam said. She likes him just as much.”

“Let’s find her.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for surviving comma hell. I'm a shabby editor.


	4. Hinasouda - ModernP&P (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part two of two. This is all I have! Maybe I'll do some more one day :$

It was late when they went home. Sonia and Hajime dragged Makoto into the car, waved goodnight to Peko, and drove back to their street. Hajime had told Sonia what they heard Gundam say, but left out any detail of Kazuichi’s comments.

Next morning, Sonia went over to Hajime’s first thing. They spend some time doing homework, then shared complaints about their headaches over orange juice.

The first month of college passed quickly, Hajime thought. Gundam made a habit of walking with Sonia at least once a day, making Hajime smile whenever he saw them. He wasn’t surprised at all when Sonia phoned him one Thursday night with a squeal.

“Tomorrow! At his house!”

“What are you gonna do there?”

“He said something about his animal collection, but I forgot to pay attention. But the whole house to ourselves, on a romantic evening…” She sighed down the phone,”That’s a date, right?”

“Jeez,” Hajime replied, “You have high hopes for this guy.”

Sonia sounded worried, “Is it too much?”

“It’s perfect. Ignore me.”

“What will I wear? Should I eat before, or will he have food there?”

When Sonia finally said goodnight, it was already Friday. The day dragged on at college, each class felt double the length and Hajime wanted to sleep through them all. To his surprise, at the end, he found Sonia waiting at the gate alone. She should be at Prince Charming’s castle.

“Sonia? What are you doing here?” Hajime asked with a nervous smile as he approached. Her expression lit up.

“Oh, Hajime! I’m just waiting for Gundam. He said he’d only be 5 minutes,” She replied.

“Did he say where he went?”

“Something about talking with Kazuichi… Don’t give me that look, it’s fine!” Sonia scolded as Hajime sighed. Before he could speak again, Gundam approached with his pink-haired friend.

“Excuse me, Sonia, I was just making sure Kazuichi had prior arrangements,” He announced.

“I’ll be out of your way, don’t worry, Gundam,” He briefly grinned, showing his sharp teeth that Hajime couldn’t help looking at. He’d seen it in the dark somewhere before…

Gundam directed his gaze to Hajime, “I didn’t realise you were around, but you’re more than welcome to join us, if you…”

“No, that’s okay,” He put up his hands to cut him off, “I’ve got to get home anyway. See you around.”

“See you, Hajime!” Sonia called excitedly. Her happiness was contagious, smiling as he passed the gates and started to walk home.

“Call me if he tries anything!” He called back, laughing when he heard a flustered Gundam behind him.

Time to play video games until Monday.

* * *

 

The sun was starting to set at around 7 in the evenings, a decisive sign that autumn was sweeping away the remains of summer.

Hajime was sitting in his room at his PC, idly shooting enemies on the screen while his music played in the background. Honestly, these kinds of nights were his favourite. Maybe he’d order a pizza later.

His phone screen lit up, catching his eye, and started to ring loudly. A call from Sonia. She’s probably home, Hajime thought, ready to tell me everything that happened. As he picked up and heard a different voice, his thoughts drew elsewhere.

“Hello? Is this Hajime?” Gundam’s voice sounded nervous through the phone.

“Where’s Sonia?” The first question burst from his mouth.

“Well, ah—Would you like to speak to her…?” He said, as if he didn’t know how to respond.

“Why are you calling me from her phone?”

“Right. I called because Sonia has had an accident and we are in A&E right now.”

For just one night, she needed to stay upright. Hajime took a few seconds to process the information and choose his words, as to not send Gundam into a flustered panic.

“Okay,” He set his voice flat, “Is it serious?”

“We didn’t need an ambulance,” Gundam started, “But Sonia’s wrist is bent in a strange and unnatural direction.”

Hajime sighed in relief instinctively. It wasn’t so bad.

“Do you want me to come over? Which hospital are you in?”

He heard rustling and background conversation through the phone, then Gundam responded.

“City Centre, apparently. We’re just waiting around for now…,” The man sighed, “I just thought Sonia would like someone she knows better.”

“Thank you,” Hajime said honestly, standing up and grabbing his jacket, “I’ll be right there.”

He hung up, not bothering to turn off his PC, and went downstairs to find his keys—

Except he didn’t have a car. Goddamnit Hajime, he thought, wracking his brain for another solution. He didn't know around to give him a lift. He could always cycle, but his bike was locked in chains in the shed. Was it quicker to walk? Or better yet, to run?

Pocketing his phone, Hajime pulled on his trainers and left the house. Remembering his previous trips to City Centre, it couldn’t be more than a mile and a half, then from there; he’d have to navigate to the hospital. Easy to do in about 20 minutes. He checked his phone once more, then started his way to where Sonia and Gundam were having their disaster date.

* * *

 

By the time he reached town, Hajime was huffing and puffing and his breath came out in visible clouds in the cold. He made a mental note to work out more often, then found his way towards the city hospital and the A&E unit. The white lights were easy to scout, so Hajime entered the centre and scanned the room for Sonia.

In the corner of the room, next to the chairs, Kazuichi stood up abruptly when Hajime caught his eye. If he was here, then surely Sonia and Gundam were around too.

“Hey,” His voice was still a little breathless as he approached Kazuichi, “I got a call from Gundam. Where are they?”

“Sonia just got called for an X-ray, Gundam had to take a call…” His reply trailed off with a look of confusion, “Did you walk here?”

There was a surprising lack of spite in Kazuichi’s words. Maybe the pink-haired student had already forgotten about the party, whereas Hajime still slighted him over it. He should just forget about it too.

As he mused over his attitude with quiet guilt, he noticed that Kazuichi wasn’t wearing his usual gaudy jumpsuit. Instead, he wore a dark red sweatshirt and black jeans, the grey beanie still on his head. Hajime answered with his eyes on the ground, his erratic heartbeat still thrumming from the running.

“Something like that…Mind if I sit down?”

“…Sure.” Kazuichi looked hesitant when the boy sat down, but joined him anyway. He turned to face him.

“I guess Gundam phoned you?”

“Yeah, about 20 minutes ago. What happened to Sonia?” Hajime asked what was important.

“I don’t know for sure, I wasn’t around when she fell,” Kazuichi stretched his arms behind his head, “I heard about a scratching post being left on the floor? Must’ve been a hard fall, too. Never seen a joint bend like that before.”

Hajime cringed at the thought. If he knew Sonia, she’d be more upset about embarrassing herself than hurting herself. Especially if Gundam jumped in to save the day.

“I’m glad Gundam was there. Plus taking her to hospital and all,” He was Sonia’s ridiculous crush after all.

“I’m pretty sure he really likes her,” Kazuichi said somewhat quietly, meeting Hajime’s eyes like he was trying to convey a message that he didn’t understand. After a moment, he broke away and smiled.

“Surprised he didn’t try to fix it with any freaky voodoo magic.”

“Huh? Voodoo magic?!” Hajime now sat up, watching Kazuichi laugh to himself.

“Thank the gods you’re here, Hajime! I thought you wouldn’t come to meet Sonia.” Speak of the devil.

“Took his time. ‘Think he walked here.” The mechanic stood up again at Gundam’s arrival, pushing his hands into his jean pockets.

“Walked? You don’t have a vehicle?” Hajime shook his head, “I’m sorry! If I had known, I would’ve had Kazuichi pick you up.” Gundam flipped his scarf over his shoulder, oblivious to his friend’s eye rolling.

“It’s fine, really. How is Sonia?” He didn’t really care much for how he got here.

“Oh! She should be out of the X-ray room soon enough. I hope it’s nothing serious…”

The three boys waited around in the waiting area for another few minutes, idly talking about things that didn’t matter. Soon, a nurse came through one of the doors with Sonia in tow. Gundam stood up.

“Mr. Tanaka? Ah, you’ve brought company.

“Hajime!” Sonia dashed past the nurse, flinging herself at her startled best friend.

“Woah! Hey there, Sonia, careful about your wrist,” He awkwardly patted her shoulder, aware that the entire waiting room was watching. When she released him, she held out her arm and bandaged wrist.

“It’s still killing me. The doctor said it’ll stay in a support for the rest of the month,” Sonia turned to Gundam, who was looking slightly nervous.

“Thank you for bringing me here. I really appreciate it.”

Gundam stood up straighter, nodding sharply, “It was no trouble. I wouldn’t have you suffering due to something that was my fault—,” He was cut off by Sonia, who took his arm firmly.

“It wasn’t your fault. And look!” She gestured at both of their bandaged arms, “We match!”

“Except only one of you is actually injured…” Kazuichi muttered beside Gundam, causing him to make a ‘tch’ sound.

“It’s kinda late. How long do you have to stick around for?” Hajime asked, starting to feel almost out of place. He should get home before too late.

“I have to wait at least another 20 minutes for the scans to come through. Then the doctor’s gotta decide what to do with me,” She sighed, “Might be here for a while. If you have to go though, Hajime, I don’t mind at all. It was nice of you to come out.”

He smiled, “I think it was mostly because of how scared Gundam sounded over the phone.”

“Oh, he was fretting around like a mother,” Sonia sent him a smile that held a promise, “But I’ll tell you about that tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright. Don’t do any more dumb things and get hurt.” He glanced at Kazuichi and Gundam, who gave him a nod. He was hoping he didn’t have to walk home again… Before he could leave, Gundam spoke as if reading his thoughts.

“You don’t have to walk. Kazuichi has a vehicle, he will take you home,” Gundam flipped his scarf again, and Kazuichi scowled after being volunteered.

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

The glare he was receiving reminded him of the party night. It’s not like Hajime asked to be driven, but he’d take the opportunity gladly, now somewhat to spite Kazuichi. The pink haired boy shrugged, brushing past Hajime and pulling out a set of keys from his pockets. They said their last goodbyes until Kazuichi started impatiently tapping his foot. Hajime wanted to prolong it for another few minutes, but decided that antagonising Kazuichi couldn’t be a good idea.

Whether it was just a rich kid thing or not, his car was in amazing condition, outside and inside. The metallic smell of oil was expected of a mechanic, but the cleaning chemical smell of the seat fabric was almost as strong. Did someone else clean his car? Or was he the kind of person to never let anyone else touch it? The image of Kazuichi getting a valet was hard to picture, but then so was the image of him in a maid’s apron with a freshener spray. Trying not to give his smile away, Hajime silently got in the passenger seat.

“Where d’ya live?” Kazuichi started the ignition.

“Know where the park is, near the college?” He nodded, “Drop me off there.”

“Sure.”

The rest of their short journey was silent. Despite anything Hajime could want to say, Kazuichi’s constant frown was a signal for no idle conversation. Eventually they pulled up to the park, and Hajime got out.

Rolling down the window, Kazuichi leaned out before he started walking. “Hey, Hajime. We should exchange numbers in case this stuff happens again.”

“Um, why?” Was Hajime’s automatic response before correcting himself, “I mean, wouldn’t it make more sense for me to have Gundam’s?”

“Fine,” The mechanic huffed, “Suit yourself, doesn’t bother me.”

Was he blushing, or just angry? Either way, he quickly rolled the window up and U-turned back in the direction of the hospital before Hajime could tell.

Weird guy, he thought.

* * *

 

Half term came around gradually, building up with more and more homework as the year progressed. Hajime was focussed on his studies, but couldn’t help getting distracted by Sonia. After their night in the hospital, he was convinced she and Gundam spoke pretty regularly. Even after her arm had mostly healed, she insisted on wearing the bandages for ‘support’. He wasn’t going to stop his best friend if she was in love.

On Halloween, the Tanaka’s threw another (smaller) party. Hajime went with Sonia, Makoto and Peko, all in costume. By the end of the night, Fuyuhiko and Nagito had tagged along, making a circle of poorly-dressed teenagers making fun of each other on the floor.

Now there were less than two months until Christmas break. Hajime made Sonia promise she would keep her head down and study, because he knew she was close to falling behind.

“Hajime.”

He recognised the voice with a start. Turning around, he ignored the traitorous speed of his heartbeat.

“Nagito. What are you doing here?” He asked, trying his best to sound casual.

The boy smiled, “You dropped this.” He held out a textbook. How had he managed to drop that?

“Oh, yeah I did,” Hajime took the book after checking in his bag. Nagito stayed where he was.

“So how’s college for you? I know we haven’t spoken for a while.”

Although it was just general conversation, Hajime was noticing old, frustrating feelings stirring up, and he wanted to run away. Had Nagito gotten taller?

“It’s good,” He swallowed, “How about you?”

“Yeah, it’s going,” Nagito kept looking right at him, “Feels like the work keeps getting harder and harder.”

“Hmm, that’s the last year for you…”

“Hey, you study French, right?” Where was Makoto or Sonia to save him?

“I, uh, yeah. Why do you ask?”

“I missed a few classes last week, and none of our other friends take it. Would you mind staying back to help me one night?”

Without bluntly pointing out that Peko took French as well, Hajime found himself nodding. He most certainly didn’t want to spend time in a room alone with Nagito, having a one-to-one session of teaching and learning… But some part of him agreed to it, quick as instinct. This was a horrible idea.

“Sure, I can do that. When do you want to start?”

Nagito beamed, “Is tomorrow night okay with you? In Languages 2?”

“That’s fine with me. I’ll see you there.” Hajime sent a smile back, self-consciousness creeping up on him. The way Nagito looked at him as he walked away made him wonder exactly what he’d agreed to.

Within seconds, Makoto caught up with Hajime from behind, wearing a complacent grin.

“You and Nagito planning things together?” Makoto nudged him with a smirk, and Hajime nudged back.

“Shut up. It’s just some French tutoring. He probably doesn’t even need it that much.”

“Sure, sure, ‘tutoring’,” He made air quotes with his fingers, “As if I haven’t read that in a romance novel.”

Before he could defend further, the bell signalled them back to class. He shooed Makoto away, telling him that it was ‘no big deal’. Unfortunately, it was harder to convince himself of that, and ridiculous scenes played through his head all through class. Peko, who was sat beside him, occasionally whispered his name to snap him out of his daydreaming; returning it with a smile that said ‘I can explain’.

After classes were over the next day, Hajime rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he stood in front of Sonia, Gundam and Kazuichi. They usually walked home together, and he’d forgotten to tell them sooner.

  
“Yeah, I need to go to Languages tonight… I’m, uh, helping someone. Don’t wait for me.”

  
“Helping someone?” Sonia pouted a little, “Who?”

  
“No one, really, just a guy in another class,” Hajime watched Sonia’s curiosity turn into a sly smile.

  
“Oh, a guy? Who’s getting special help from monsieur Hinata?” She teased, making the tips of his ears go red.

  
“Really…It’s just, you know him, Nagito Komaeda?” His voice grew quieter as he trailed off, expecting that he’d never hear the end of it now. Sonia’s eyes lit up and she started bouncing on her toes, so Hajime missed the dark look Gundam sent towards Kazuichi.

  
“Nagito is so cute! You used to have a crush on him right?” She was oblivious to his flustered denial, “Remember the Halloween party, when he was dressed as a ghost? That was so much fun.”

  
“Honestly, you sound like Makoto,” He said with a huff, but gave her a reluctant smile.

  
“Let’s not hold the guy up,” Kazuichi snapped suddenly, tapping his foot on the ground. Hajime frowned and Sonia rolled her eyes before turning back to Gundam.

  
“Okay, let’s go. Have fun~!” She winked, Gundam nodded and Kazuichi remained sour as they left.

  
However, there wasn’t time to focus on his friends when an unwarranted nervousness stirred in his chest as he approached the Languages classroom.

  
After meeting with Nagito, finding a spot to work and reviewing his notes awkwardly (mostly on Hajime’s part), the two set to work on French language. Sometime later, Nagito was swinging back on his chair with a mischievous smirk.

  
“C’mon, this is boring. I’m much more interested in just talking to you,” The white-haired student whined, pushing his notes away from him.

  
“H-huh? You asked for help on this,” Hajime couldn’t meet his eyes, “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

  
Sighing dramatically, Nagito picked up his pen again and scribbled something down on his paper. Glancing over, it read ‘je m'ennuie!!!’.

  
“I don’t know how to make this more interesting for you.”

  
“That gives me an idea…” His voice became playful again, and Hajime didn’t like the way Nagito was smiling, “Every time I do something good or productive, you have to answer one question I choose.”

  
Immediately feeling heat rush to his ears, Hajime looked away from his smug face.   
“How is that fair? You should take this work seriously, it’s important.”

  
“I am! I am, Hajime,” He jumped when Nagito touched his hand, “It’s a reward system, see?”

  
“I-I get that…” Hajime fought the urge to pull his hand away, deciding that he was too far gone to try going back.

  
“Great! What’s the next paragraph to translate?”

  
Unfortunately for Hajime, Nagito’s idea had worked by the time they went home. They’d completed all of Nagito’s overdue work and homework, and Hajime had hesitantly answered some strange questions from his work partner (“Have you ever had a boyfriend or a girlfriend?” “That isn’t relevant!”).

  
Once he was home, he considered calling Sonia, but thoughts of Nagito kept him preoccupied. Had he really been interested in Hajime? Was it an old crush that was surfacing, or something different? It took him all of 3 mixtapes to decide that he should ask Sonia when in doubt. The resulting phone call lasted long into the night, making him late the next morning.

  
“We thought you weren’t going to show up, Hajime!” Makoto offered him the remains of his energy drink, which he downed with amazing speed.

  
“Yeah, so did I. You can blame Sonia for that.”

  
“Hey, it’s not my fault you had so many feelings,” Sonia waved her hand, then added in a lower voice, “Especially over Nagito.”

  
“Nagito?” Makoto all but exclaimed, earning a kick under the table, “You really tutored him?”

  
Hajime just nodded, checking Nagito wasn’t close by. Sonia gave a better description.  
“Apparently Nagito was trying to ‘get to know’ Hajime! Isn’t that code for something? I’m sure it is.”

  
“It’s not code, stupid. It’s just…” Sonia and Makoto leaned closer to Hajime, “He was curious.”

  
The two shared a doubtful look, unaware of Hajime’s own doubt, and thankfully Makoto changed the subject.

  
“That reminds me, Fuyuhiko wanted to speak to you. Not sure why.”

  
Hajime recalled the name with confusion, “Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu? Why would he want to talk to me?”

  
“Everyone wants some of Hajime,” Sonia concluded in a sing-song voice, but Hajime ignored her with a roll of his eyes.

  
“I don’t speak to him, usually, but I’ll catch up with him later I guess,” He shrugged, finishing his food and grabbing his phone.

  
As Makoto and Sonia continued with their regular conversation, Hajime unconsciously scrolled through the names on his contacts. He stopped when Nagito’s name caught his eye. They’d exchanged numbers during the ‘tutoring’ session, but either one were yet to send any messages. The thought of texting the boy made Hajime’s heartbeat grow louder in his ears, and he let out a heavy sigh of frustration.

  
Promising to meet up with them later, Hajime left his two friends to wander around the corridors before next class. Maybe I’ll spot Nagito…? He was acting like a schoolgirl.  
He kept his head down, walking past people who left him unnoticed. He was about to answer the text tone of his phone when a foot darted into his pathway, his own feet stumbled right over it, and he almost collapsed into the arms of a stranger.

  
“Watch it, kid.” The arms forcefully pushed him upright, and Hajime was about to give them a piece of his mind until he saw who the stranger was.

  
A girl with immaculate uniform, a short black bob, and a deadpan expression stood a head shorter than Hajime, hands on her hips. He glanced at her arms that had pushed him, wondering if she was stronger than him.

  
“What? Don’t you have somewhere to be?” She snapped.

  
“Well, I was going somewhere,” he muttered, turning to carry on walking, “but you did trip me up.”

  
“Hey, wait. I’ve seen you before,” the girl folded her arms and studied his face as Hajime turned back to her. “You were at the Tanaka’s. In September and October.”

  
“Yeah, we were invited,” He said defensively, “We’re pretty good friends with them.”

  
She raised an eyebrow, “You are?”

  
“Yeah. I don’t know what party you want me to get you invited to, but you can talk to him yourself.”

  
A smile broke out on the girls face and she laughed behind her hand.

  
“Name’s Mukuro Enoshima. Our family is really close to the Tanakas, me and my sister grew up with Gundam.”

  
“Oh? Oh,” Hajime tried to recall if Enoshima had been mentioned, “Enoshima, like the Enterprises?”

  
Enoshima Enterprises was an even bigger company than the Tanaka store chain or Kazuichi’s mechanics shop. It clicked into place that the rich business kids should all know each other, going to the same school and parties. Although he’d never heard Sonia talking about Mukuro or the Enoshimas, maybe they kept a lower profile.

  
“Yep. Me and my sister are in the little ‘heir club’, I guess.”

  
Hajime nodded, feeling slightly more relaxed. “Do you hang out with them often?”

  
Mukuro scrunched up her nose, “Not so much anymore, since they transferred. Parties, and whenever I see them in college. You probably more than me.”

  
“They’re great parties though, right? Oh, I’m Hajime Hinata, by the way. Uh, yeah,” he finished awkwardly, debating in asking why Kazuichi and Gundam transferred.

  
“Trust me, I’ve heard all about you. And Sonia, of course,” she smiled secretly and he brought a hand to the back of his head, feeling conflicted.

  
“All good, I hope?” He laughed nervously. Did Gundam really say that much? Or even Kazuichi?

  
“All positive, with some extra sarcasm from a certain guy,” Mukuro winked at Hajime, causing him to frown. Kazuichi? He’d never known Gundam to be the sarcastic type.  
The two small-talked for a few minutes longer, discussing exams and Christmas plans, until the bell rang through the corridor.

  
“I’ll catch up later, Mukuro,” Hajime gave her a friendly smile.

  
“Alright. See you, Hajime,” She pulled her bag on to her shoulder, “And try not to mention Nagito.”

  
Before he could stutter out a question, the girl had swept up into the flow of students walking to class. As she mentioned Nagito’s name, Hajime remember his phone had buzzed earlier. He decided to ask about mentioning Nagito later, and slipped his phone from his pocket with trembling fingers. Whether he was relieved or disappointed, the text was from Sonia.

  
>Sonia – ‘gundam’s birthday/xmas party is on the 14th!!! save the date !x’


	5. Novoselic AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This *was* meant to be Sondam but I didn't get very far through Gundam's POV. Still kinda cute I guess.......

 

The Novoselic Castle grounds were large, golden and mostly very busy during the day. Some people drove horses that pulled carts full of fruits and vegetables to the market, some admired the beautiful arrangements of flowers lining the gardens, and some even brought out their easels and canvas to paint the regal summer scene. From inside the castle, through the window of the tallest tower, a small princess would watch as the day went by, absentmindedly following people who approached the gates until they were out of sight.

The princess, being 7 years old, always asked questions to her nanny and her tutor about the villagers she had seen. The answers were usually ‘they’re not important’, or ‘have you finished your mathematics?’, so the princess made stories up for them. If she saw a stableboy changing a horse’s shoe, he could be a secret wizard looking after a Pegasus. The guard unsheathing his sword could be preparing for a dragon that might burn the village down. And the girl with a rose in her hair could be looking for a frog to kiss and turn into a handsome prince! The princess thought her imagination was very good.

There was one person who always managed to slip under her gaze, however. A little boy, only 7 years old. He had no home of his own, no friends or family to help him. This little boy lived on the castle grounds, sleeping in dark corners and eating stolen food. He was invisible to everyone. The cleaners who caught him and shooed him away every now and then called him ‘The Rat Boy’. Although he despised the name, it was quite fitting. No less than 3 or 4 rodents followed the boy wherever he went, as if he was the Pied Piper. If anyone besides the cleaners found him, he would surely be banished from the castle grounds.

* * *

 

 

“Sonia! Princess Sonia!”

Sonia Nevermind, heir to the Novoselic throne, yawned widely. Someone was knocking loudly at her door again…

“Princess Sonia, I must insist you get up. You have an outing today with the Duchess’ daughter.”

“Yes, thank you for waking me,” Sonia mumbled politely, “I’ll be ready in a while.”

“Are you sure?  You said the same thing just less than an hour ago,” Miss Usami called through the door. There was no response, probably meaning that the young princess had fallen back to sleep. Hesitantly, Miss Usami pushed open the door to Sonia’s bedroom.

Being the only heir to a fairly rich kingdom, Sonia was given mostly anything she wanted. Her large room was decorated with pretty pink things, sparkling mirrors and delicate dolls. But Sonia’s favourite thing by far was the bright and expansive painting on the ceiling. It had been hand-painted and tailored to everything she asked for on her 5th birthday. Each inch of the mural told a different story, usually of princesses and magical creatures, all interlocking as one giant scene in the sky. Even though it had been two years since it was finished, the princess always found something new and interesting to gaze at before she slept. 

 

Miss Usami sighed softly at the sleeping girl, then went to pull open the curtains. People would not often expect the young woman to hold the position of royal nanny, but her experience with children was plentiful. Light flooded into the room, causing Princess Sonia to stifle a groan and rub her eyes awake.

 

“The day is happy and bright, so shake off the traces of night!” Miss Usami rhymed cheerfully, moving over to Sonia’s closet to prepare an outfit. 

 

“Miss Usami…what’s the time?” Sonia sat up and stretched her legs over the side of the bed.

 

“Just passing 9 ‘o clock, my dear.”

 

“And what time do I meet with Chiaki?”

 

“Noon,” Miss Usami hummed, passing a collection of dresses to Sonia. “You’ve still got a while, but you need to finish your French work for Miss Ludenburg.”

 

“I understand. Thank you, Miss Usami,” the princess said sweetly, finally climbing out of her king-sized bed and choosing a dress for the day. The delightful climate of Novoselic made it possible for anyone to wear a pretty summer dress almost year-round. A plus for Sonia, because she loved the way it spreads out around her knees when she twirled. 

 

“Do you need anything else, princess? Or shall I expect you at breakfast for half past?”

 

“Ah, Miss Usami, would you make my hair pretty?” Princess Sonia asked hesitantly. The older woman was very good at styling Sonia’s blonde waves into anything she wanted.

 

“Of course I will, Sonia dear. Out of your sleep clothes and into that dress, then we’ll make wonders of this golden mess!” With a winning smile, Miss Usami pat Sonia’s head and winked. The younger girl giggled at her nanny’s funny ability to rhyme. Sonia briefly thought she was very lucky to have Miss Usami.

 

* * *

 

When the duchess visited the palace, she usually brought her daughter Chiaki who was about the same age as Sonia. Chiaki was one of her best friends, although they didn’t see each other very often. But when they did meet, Miss Usami would organise an outing or day trip for the girls to get out of the castle and breathe some fresh air. By the time noon came around, the princess was bouncing excitedly around her nanny in the guest lounge.

“Where are we going today, Miss Usami? It’s such a nice day, will we be outside?”

“Of course, princess, the sun has come out just for you! We will be having a picnic in the gardens today, then going to the stables to ride your horses,” she replied, smiling as the girl stopped to stare out of the window.

“Does Chiaki like horse riding?” Sonia asked, half listening, half focused on something in the window.

“She does. And from what I’ve heard, she’s very good!”

“I can’t wait. Thank you Miss Usami!”

Just as the princess returned to her nanny’s side, there was a knock at the door. Sonia raced forward to open it.  A tall man in a long black coat was stood on the other side, startling the princess slightly and causing Miss Usami to stand beside her and watch carefully.

“Good morning, Princess Sonia. I’ve heard that you’re spending the day with Miss Nanami?”

Before Sonia could open her mouth, Miss Usami answered for her.   
“That’s right. I’m taking them both outside for a picnic.”

“Ah wonderful,” the man smiled, stepping aside to show a small girl with short pink hair. Sonia squeaked and reached to grab Chiaki’s hand.

“You must be Miss Usami the nanny,” the man watched as the two girls exchanged happy and polite greetings, “May I speak with you for a moment?”

“Of course. Girls, I’ll be just a second.”

Miss Usami stepped out of the room and closed to door behind her. Princess Sonia and Chiaki chattered to each other (Sonia did most of the talking while Chiaki listened), until Miss Usami opened the door again.

“All right girls. We’ll collect our lunch when the cooks are done, then go and walk in the Novoselic sun!”

* * *

 

Miss Usami took Sonia and Chiaki out into the gardens, people stopping every now and then to smile and wave at the princess. She always waved back to the Novoselic citizens, making them marvel and coo at their country’s future ruler. They picnicked under the shade of a large tulip tree. Eventually, the two young girls ran out into the grassy area to play some kind of imaginary game. Their energy was endless, giving Miss Usami the feeling of being tired from just watching them twirl round each other. At half past 2, she decided it was time to go to the stables. The nanny approached the heiresses who appeared to be engaged in baking an imaginary cake. 

 

“Princess Sonia? We should head to the stables now if we want to do horse riding.”

 

The princess, however, was completely immersed. “Ah, a customer! Chiaki, we have a customer! Good morning, Miss Usami, what can I do for you today?”

 

The young woman chuckled to herself, “What do you have, princess?”

 

“We are the world’s best bakery! We have cakes, and sweets, and bread, and biscuits and lots of cakes.”

 

“Ooh, that all sounds delicious. Could I have a fairy cake please?”

 

“Of course you can, coming right up!” Sonia went over to where Chiaki was kneading some dough in the air and relayed the order. A few moments later, Miss Usami was handed a presumably fairy cake. 

 

“Enjoy, Miss Usami,” Chiaki said pleasantly, rubbing her eye tiredly. 

 

“Are you sleepy, Chiaki dear?” She knew that the pink-haired girl was prone to napping in strange places.

 

“A little,” she answered honestly, “But I’ll be fine for the rest of the day.”

 

“All right then. Is the bakery ready to shut up shop? We need to meet the horses at the stables.”

 

“We’re ready Miss Usami,” Princess Sonia said firmly, taking Chiaki’s hand once again. It was a cute habit of hers, to hold her friends’ hands, Miss Usami noticed.

* * *

 

 

After a few hours of petting and riding the palace horses, a chilly breeze swept up in the fields. Chiaki found herself shivering, so they all decided to go back inside. The two girls played for a little longer in the guest lounge, while Miss Usami took the opportunity to read a book in peace. When there was a knock at the door, the girls barely noticed it. Miss Usami opened it and found the same man from earlier on the other side. Although he seemed to be Chiaki’s caretaker of some sort, he didn’t give the impression of someone who interacts with children often. For this reason, Miss Usami resisted glaring.

 

“Evening, sir,” was her curt greeting.

 

“Good evening, Miss. The Duchess is taking her leave, and she thanks you for looking after her daughter.”

 

“Of course. Chiaki is very charming, and Sonia loves her company,” Miss Usami watched them continue to play over her shoulder. She almost didn’t want to stop them.

 

“Girls, unfortunately, Chiaki has to go now. It’s been very lovely having you, dear.”

 

“Oh yes, thank you for coming! I’ve had so much fun today!” Sonia smiled widely at her friend. The other girl smiled back, interrupted with a yawn.

 

“Thank you for having me, Princess Sonia,” Chiaki said before stepping out to stand beside the man. She grabbed the sleeve of his black coat, but he didn’t react.

 

“Bye bye Chiaki,” the princess waved.

 

“See you next time, Sonia,” her friend waved back.

 

Just as Miss Usami closed the door, she watched Chiaki reached her hand up to take the man’s, which he took with his own. The nanny smiled softly, then turned to a patient princess. 

 

“So Sonia, what would you like for dinner?”


	6. Pokemon AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One I really want to finish!! Art by lovely snibsy @tumblr

Hajime opened his eyes wide at the sound of his alarm clock. Truthfully, he’d been awake for an hour, but only now did getting up seem like a good idea. This gave him 2 hours to get ready and prepare for the day ahead. More than enough, he knew, but it was better than lying around and being unproductive. Hajime had to make sure he beat his twin brother, Izuru, to the Pokémon Lab in Lumiose City to pick a starter.

He got on his bike and cycled to the city, passing by people who wished him luck with a smile. Now he just had to make sure he’d beaten his brother Izuru. By the time he reached Sycamore’s Lab, Hajime was puffing breaths from cycling around North Boulevard, getting lost and eventually asking for directions. He burst in the doors, briefly nodded to the receptionist before slamming the button for the lift.

Half expecting Izuru’s self-satisfied smirk, the doors opened and he hopped inside. He caught his breath and reviewed his options.

Froakie was the water and dark type, good against rock, fire and psychic; Fennekin was the fire and psychic type, super effective to grass, steel and fighting; lastly Chespin the grass and fighting type, good for water, ground and flying.

There were pros and cons to each one, but he wanted the best one before Izuru did. He would ask Sycamore to give him advice on each, maybe getting them out of their Pokéballs to look at them properly. Hajime was feeling good about this now. Today was likely to be the start of the rest of his life.

“Ah, Hajime! You’re here quite early,” Sycamore greeted when Hajime left the lift, “Welcome to my lab.”

“Morning, Professor. I wanted to make sure I made the right decision about my starter,” He replied, joining Sycamore at the desk.

The professor smiled, “Of course. Although, a Pokémon’s strength is always determined by the trainer, no matter the type.”

As Sycamore brought a large briefcase from out underneath his desk, Hajime hesitated before asking.

“Professor…Has, has Izuru been here already? I tried to get up before him, but I’m not so sure…”

“Oh no, don’t worry so much Hajime!” Sycamore unclipped the case to show three Pokéballs, “I haven’t seen your brother since he left last night.”

Hajime cursed internally. Of course Izuru would go the night before! It’s just like him to be sneaky.

“I’m sure you know the three you’ll be choosing from,” He continued, “Chespin, Froakie and Fennekin.”

“I did a little bit of research,” Hajime nodded, “But they’re quite rare, aren’t they Professor?”

“That’s right. Bred especially for you and my other apprentices! Take a seat,” Sycamore gestured to the chair in front of the desk.

“Will I be getting a Pokédex too?

“Yes, yes,” He laughed, “Have you decided which Pokémon you’ll pick first?”

Hajime leaned forward, clearing his throat, “Actually, I have a few questions first, Professor…”

* * *

 

 

“In summary, this Fennekin will be statistically better as Delphox, but has a slight attitude problem. Froakie here, of course, is excellent for trainers who are trying to fill the Pokédex. And lastly, Chespin is very protective and will be perfect for competitive battling,” Sycamore leaned back in his chair, hoping that Hajime would finally be satisfied after a barrage of questioning.

To his joy, the boy nodded, “Alright. Thank you, Professor. I’ve made a decision.”

Hajime surveyed the Pokéballs in the case once more, his hand resting on the leftmost. He picked up the ball and released the starter inside. It’s small green and brown form stood before Hajime, then released a cry.

“Chespin!” The Pokémon said, enjoying its freedom outside of the ball. Tentatively, Hajime crouched down to its level.

“Hey Chespin. I’m Hajime,” He smiled when Chespin returned his greeting with another chirp of its name.

Professor Sycamore watched the two, remembering with a grin how his first Pokémon had bitten him when he tried to approach it.

“You two look like you’ll get along famously. Will you give it a nickname?”

Chespin had hopped into Hajime’s arms, and the boy was narrowly avoiding its spiny head at his neck.

  
“Uh…I didn’t think this far along.”

  
“Well, nicknames are becoming more common, but a Pokémon will do just fine without.”

“Just Chespin it is,” Hajime said as he put Chespin back down on the floor and returned it to the Pokéball.

Sycamore absentmindedly checked his watch, “Your brother is due any minute now.”

Hajime jumped at the mention of Izuru, “R-Really? I should go now, then.”

“So soon?”

The voice hadn’t come from the Professor, but Hajime knew that disinterested tone too well. They both span round to see the other Hajime leaning against the office doorway.

Izuru, despite being Hajime’s twin, was very different from his brother. His hair was a few shades darker, and spiralled past his shoulders where Hajime’s was cut short. His eyes were coloured amber-brown in a way that seemed red in the wrong light. Izuru was extremely clever, but reserved himself from people in a way that Hajime just didn’t understand.

“Izuru! Good timing, I might say…” Even the Professor trailed his sentence off under Izuru’s bored gaze.

“I’ll take the fire type, if that’s no issue.”

“Ah, Fennekin. A good choice, very strong when evolved,” Sycamore picked up the Pokéball and held it out, “I will warn you, this one has a bit of a temper.”

Izuru brushed past Hajime, took the ball from the Professor and pocketed it like it was bothering him. Something twitched in Hajime knowing that the Professor was going to trust Izuru with a Pokémon when he hadn’t even released it from its ball to meet it. Hajime glared hard into Izuru’s strange eyes.

“Thank you. Hajime…” Izuru finally turned to meet his brother’s stare, “Would you honour me with my first battle?”

Keeping his frustration in check, Hajime nodded. He wasn’t going to back down to his brother before he’d started his journey, even though he knew his Chespin would be at a big disadvantage. Sycamore spoke up through the tense rivalry.

“The plazas in the city are good places to battle. Don’t forget your Pokédexes,” The professor handed each boy a red device, “And remember that neither of you have practiced, so the winner won’t really matter!”

They both ignored him while stuck in their staring match, Izuru willing Hajime to give up, and Hajime only raising his chin further.

“I’ll meet you at Jaune Plaza in a few minutes, Hajime. I just need to have a few words with the Professor.”

“Alright. Thank you for the Pokémon, Professor Sycamore,” Hajime smiled briefly at the man, blinked at Izuru, then turned to walk back to the lift.

“Come visit anytime!” He heard Sycamore call out almost desperately as the doors closed and took him to the ground level.

* * *

 

 

Jaune Plaza was easy enough to locate, the large yellow-coloured pillar in the centre indicating its name. Hajime found a bench to sit on, and brought Chespin out of its Pokéball.

“Chespin!” It called, and Hajime suddenly felt nervous. Everything he’d learned about Pokémon, battling them, raising them and evolving them, he’d never considered talking to one. It could understand most things he was saying, right? What if it didn’t like him, or he couldn’t understand how it was responding? The Pokémon was bouncing on the bench and waiting for Hajime to say something.

“Uh…Hey, Chespin,” It stopped bouncing to look up at its trainer, “We’re friends now, huh? Partners.”

When it answered with a happy chirp, Hajime relaxed slightly, “Are you ready for your first battle?”

Instead of saying anything, the Pokémon stood up on its toes and puffed out its chest, making its trainer laugh.

“We’ll show that meanie, huh? You think you can help me beat his Fennekin?”

“Ches-Chespin!”

“I see you two are…bonding.”

“Why can’t you greet people normally?” Hajime groaned, turning to face his brother who had arrived in the Plaza without warning.

"Where’s the fun in that?” He replied with a half-smirk. Beside Hajime, Chespin started to climb on to his shoulder and nuzzle into his neck. Izuru’s stare was watching how it behaved, and wondered if that had spooked the Pokémon. His brother reached into his pocket, pulled out the Pokéball and released Fennekin for the first time.

Izuru’s starter crashed out of the ball, flames licking and scorching the stone pavement. With a loud cry, the Fennekin twirled on the spot, and then narrowed its eyes at Hajime and Chespin.

“Good morning, Fennekin,” Izuru said in a dull voice, “My name is Izuru, and I will be training you.”

Despite the boy’s collected approach, Fennekin bristled and growled at its trainer. Izuru was hardly fazed.

“We will battle together here. I can show you what I can do, and you can show me what you can do. How does that sound?”

The younger Hinata watched the strange interaction with interest, absently holding Chespin. Admittedly, Fennekin was intimidating, and matched Izuru perfectly. When Fennekin seemed to respond positively, Izuru returned his gaze to Hajime.

“Ready, Hajime?”


	8. Kazukoma - Modern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt - A and B go to the same support group  
> Not very rom but? Sorry those who ship this ship

****

Kazuichi Souda walked towards the large white doors of the rehabilitation centre. He hated that word: rehabilitation. He wasn’t going to suddenly fix himself, and honestly he didn’t think he was broken. The only thing he had were regrets, but they wouldn’t kill him. 

  
  
For the last 3 months, Souda had been confined to a small room in this building, where they asked him questions all the time, fed him medicated food, and encouraged him to talk to other patients. In truth, that was his favourite part. The other patients were mostly also sick of how the doctors treated them, so they could all complain together with a laugh.

  
  
Since his release into normality 2 weeks ago, they still wanted to monitor him. Every Wednesday for the next year Souda was sentenced to support group sessions. He would return to the centre, sit in a circle for an hour and try not to draw attention to himself. Torture for someone like Souda. 

  
  
This week was no different. He glared at the sign as he walked through the doors, trying not to breathe the sickeningly familiar smell, and signed in at the reception. The lady receptionist even had the good courtesy to tell him he was late, and he held back the urge to swear at her.

 

No point, Souda, he told himself, they’ll drag you back in. Two doors down, he could hear the session starting. The counsellor, who had a voice reminisce of a primary school teacher, was lecturing about important relationships or something. Souda stuck a smile on his face and wandered in.

  
“Sorry I’m late,” He announced obnoxiously, revelling in the dirty looks he received. He quickly counted 13 other patients. 

  
  
“No problem, Mr Souda. Please take a seat,” The counsellor pointed to a chair. Without argument, Souda sat down. All he had to do now was pass the time for another 50 minutes…

  
  
“Get into partners and complete the activity. You have 10 minutes, everyone!" 

  
  
The counsellor’s voice shook Souda from his daydreaming. Activity? Partners? This was new. Because of his hesitation, he was left with a pale, skinny boy with whitish blonde hair that no one else seemed to want to partner with. They looked a similar age, so Souda figured he could get along for now. He took the seat beside him.

  
  
"Hey, uh, dude? What was the activity?” Souda asked tentatively, and the boy seemed to jump slightly.

  
  
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to partner with you,” he looked nervous, unable to make eye contact with Souda. 

  
  
“Oh,” Souda frowned, “But I’m the only one left,” The boy wanted to partner with someone else? He watched his eyes widen.

  
  
“You don’t have to talk to me…” As the pale boy said this, Souda resisted to roll his eyes, but did feel sorry for him. What could he expect from support group frequents?

  
  
“No, it’s okay. You seem cool,” Souda sent an encouraging smile, “Do you know what the activity is?”

  
  
The boy shook his head, “Sorry, I wasn’t listening either.”

  
  
Souda grinned, glad to know he wasn’t the only one who wanted to fall asleep through everything in this session.

  
  
“What’s your name, kid?” He asked, relaxing more into his chair. 

  
  
“Nagito. Komaeda.”

  
“Cool. I’m Kazuichi Souda. Stayed here for 3 months before they put me on these weekly meetings,” The small talk appeared to make Komaeda relax more too.

  
  
“I guess you’re lucky. I’ve been in and out my whole life,” Komaeda told him nonchalantly. Souda, however, was immediately very curious. If he guessed his age right, that’d be around 16 years of rehab. What was wrong with this kid?  
  
“Really? Damn. That’s gotta suck.”

  
  
Komaeda perked up, “It does. But I don’t know a lot different, so I’m excited to have my own life when they let me go. When I’m 20, they promised.”

  
  
“How old are you now?” Komaeda’s mood improvement was infectious.

   
  
“17. What about you?”

  
  
Souda raised an eyebrow, “I’m only 16. I guess I’m the kid around here then.”

 

  
The pale boy smiled wider. People probably didn’t talk to him much, so the idea of a new friend must’ve been nice. Still, Souda wondered why he was so long-term.

  
  
“I got my sentence for risky depression,” he started his repetitive story, “When I was 7, a cousin of mine killed himself at 21. They always said he was suicidal, and last year I fell into a dark spot. Didn’t want to live any more, but I eventually picked myself up.”

  
  
Hearing this, Souda expected Komaeda to either be scared or upset that he was amiably chatting with someone like him. Instead, he looked fascinated.

  
“Did you try to die?”

  
  
“I thought about it a lot. Drank alcohol, took drugs and completely disregarded my health! Thankfully, I remembered my cousin one night, and quit it all,” Though it was odd,  Souda got the feeling of telling a fairytale to a child. Komaeda looked absorbed.

 

  
“Wow…”

  
  
“Yup. Then they locked me away in here.”

  
  
For a few moments, both patients sat in silence. The other people still talked in the room to each other, but Komaeda and Souda were ignorant to whatever task the counsellor set. Next Souda hoped Komaeda would share his story, despite how sad or scary it might be. Soon enough, the pale boy spoke up.

  
  
“I was born with a disease called lymphoma. It shouldn’t have developed so quickly in a baby, but it did with me. Just my luck, huh.”

  
  
Souda, a strange pain in his chest, looked over Komaeda’s appearance. The most noticeable features on him were his white pale hair and skin. Even his eyes lacked pigment, and his purplish lips stood out on his face. 

  
  
“I probably won’t live past 30, but I’ve heard it’s not that great anyway.”

  
  
That hit Souda hard. It shouldn’t have, but it did. They were Komaeda’s honest feelings. A boy born to get a small taste of life, then have it taken away. Who told him it wasn’t that great? Whoever it was, Souda wanted to shake their shoulders very hard and ask them what they were thinking. 30 years were nothing in comparison, especially after depression recovery. When Souda hit the age of 29, would he even remember the pale boy Komaeda from support group? He would have his whole life ahead. Komaeda would be hanging on his last threads, believing that that was as good as it gets.  

  
  
He didn’t know how long passed, but Souda closed his open mouth when Komaeda nudged him. 

  
  
“Souda? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  
  
“No, no, I’m sorry,” Souda shook his head, once again looking at Komaeda’s grey eyes, “I bet you get that a lot.”

  
  
Komaeda frowned, thinking, “I don’t tell a lot of people. The doctors are used to me. And I don’t talk to people my age very often.”

  
  
A foreign, dutiful feeling fell on Souda. He could be Komaeda’s new best friend. To show him that life is whatever he makes it.

  
  
“Talk to me. Here, let’s talk every week at these sessions.”

  
They both grinned, real accomplishment fluttering in Souda’s heart. 

  
  
“Okay.”

  
The counsellor’s commanding voice crowed over and silenced the group, “All right, get back to your own seats, the activity is over! Be prepared to give feedback.”

  
  
Uh oh, Souda thought immediately, and he saw the same thing dawn on Komaeda’s face. Neither of them had done the task, so had no idea how to feedback.

 

  
“Leave it to me,” Souda leaned over and whispered to Komaeda before he moved chairs.

  
  
“First, let’s go to Mr Souda and Mr Komaeda!” The counsellor doomed them to their fates after everyone settled again.

  
  
With a throat-clearing cough, Souda stood up and glanced over at Komaeda. He now needed his strongest ability to wing it.

  
  
“Nagito Komaeda is a great guy who doesn’t have the best of luck, but has a winning smile. In my opinion, if more people took the time to get to know him, he’d be swarmed with friends.”

  
  
Without looking, he knew Komaeda would have one of his smiles on. Souda waited for the counsellor to rain down the criticism and angry questions, but surprisingly, none came.

  
  
“Good work, Souda. And Komaeda?”

 

  
He…what? He said the right thing? Was his winging ability really that good? Or was the counsellor waiting to scold them both at once? At least now, Komaeda knew what to say. He slowly stood up, fidgeting with his fingers.

  
  
“Well…Kazuichi Souda is really cool too. He could make me laugh when I didn’t want to. And he saved his own life.” Souda flinched when he added the last part, but appreciated it anyway. It was a unique way of thinking.

  
  
“Thank you, you two. It seems you’ll be good friends,” the counsellor’s words were condescending, but Souda couldn’t deny their truth. 

  
  
For the final 20 minutes, the other patients droned on about their partners, and the counsellor praised everyone before releasing them. On their way out, Souda caught up with Komaeda.

  
  
“Hey, where do you go after these things?”

  
Komaeda gazed down to his feet, “Today I need to be at the hospital. One of my carers should be around the corner,” He gestured to the white doors before looking up at Souda, “But next week I should have free.”

  
  
“Awesome,” Souda said, genuinely interested in spending more time with Komaeda. They both exited the rehab building and Souda offered his hand which Komaeda shook.

  
  
“See you next week, yeah?”

  
  
“Yeah.”

  
  
On his short walk home, Souda contemplated his thoughts. For the first time ever, he left support group with an achievement and a smile. Even better, he was looking forward to his next meeting. Maybe as he tried to help Komaeda, Komaeda would also be passively helping him.

 

_I’ve heard it’s not that great anyway._ Souda sighed. He’d show Komaeda that life could be the best thing that would happen to him. Souda was lucky to be able to pick himself up so easily, and therapy seemed pointless in comparison to a terminal disease. Nonetheless, they could help each other. Friends that would improve their lives. Anchors and support. As he unlocked his front door and slipped inside, another thought hid in the back of Souda’s mind. 

  
  
They could be friends for the next 13 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know much about this topic, so edit suggestions are completely welcome


	9. Vampire AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW i'm so rry I'm almost a real adult and look what i'm posting on fanfiction websites...........
> 
> No apparent ships (yet) but more brother!Izuru!

_It was so dark; he couldn’t see anything beyond a few metres. He looked down at his own pure white hands, so bright they glowed in the blackness of the room. Dark droplets started to fall on his fingers and palms. There were no tears in his eyes, so he couldn’t be crying. Was it blood? Was he having a nosebleed? That seemed a bit strange to consider. He was too enraptured in the contrast of liquid and skin to check. A slight red sheen to the drops confirmed his suspicions. Slowly and cautiously, he swept his tongue over his bottom lip, and a stinging pain and sharp taste made him flinch. His lip was bleeding. Next, his tongue went to the top row of his teeth. One small tooth, a second small tooth…his canines were too long. They were just like fangs, and he could taste blood on the blade-like tips._

 

Hajime Hinata woke from his dream when he heard a loud bang from downstairs. He registered the time as 1:45am, then realised what was happening. The voices from below were loud and obnoxious as they always were, so Hajime could only turn over and go back to sleep. He hated it so much when Izuru did this. Especially at this time, and when their parents had told him to cut down.

 

A loud girl’s laugh echoed up the stairs, followed by Izuru’s low hum. The two came upstairs with hushed giggles, and Izuru’s bedroom door shut. Some thumping sounds made Hajime cringe in his covers. He knew what was coming next. He threw a pillow over his head, covering his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut.

 

Despite his defenses, Hajime couldn’t block out the girl’s terrified shriek.

 

Next morning, as usual, Hajime was up before Izuru. A habit from back when he was at school. Even so, it was the middle of August and Hajime had his summer job today. He sat down on his laptop with a coffee and waited for Izuru to come down.

 

Soon footsteps descended the stairs and Hajime prepared to greet his brother.

 

“Good morning, Hajime!” Izuru swung into the lounge and took a seat opposite his brother.

“No guesses to why you’re so happy,” Hajime mumbled into his cup. Izuru smirked.

“Did we wake you up? Terribly sorry,” he said without a trace of apology.

“You know mum and dad told you to stop bringing them in.”

“They said to ‘cut down’,” Izuru shrugged, “She was my first all this week.”

“And you don’t have to be so loud. Some of us like to sleep.”

“But that’s only you, Hajime. You’re the odd one.”

“You like to remind me, don’t you?” The younger brother sighed in frustration. Izuru changed to sit right beside Hajime and put an arm round his shoulder.

“I think you’d really enjoy living like the rest of us. You just need to accept who you are.”

Hajime folded his arms stubbornly, “I don’t want to.”

“How old are you, 15, 16? Most your age would be out hunting by now.”

“I’m 18, Izuru. I’m not ‘most my age’ either.”

Izuru stood up and faced Hajime with a condescending look.

“Listen, when I was your age, I thought the same thing. I didn’t want to live like a monster, but I soon learned that that’s just what we are.”

“I’m nothing like you,” Hajime seethed, anger growing hot in his nerves. Izuru was acting oblivious.

“Maybe I’ll take you hunting, Hajime, then you’ll get a real taste for it.”

“Not after last time you tried.”

 

At his words, the Izuru fell silent and a strange look passed on his face. They didn’t often talk about what happened, so Hajime wondered if Izuru actually regretted it. He considered the possibility, until Izuru’s lip twitched at he burst into laughter.

“Hah! Last time, what a night that was. I can still remember the look on the Nagisa kid’s face!”

Hajime clenched his fists, but kept his breathing in check. He knew Izuru was only doing this to wind him up, and a fight would never end well for him. Instead, he uttered quietly.

“His name was Nagito.”

“Nagito, whatever,” Izuru raised his hands to imitate the boy with continuous cold laughing, “‘Hajime is that you? What are you doing?’”

“Stop it. Izuru.”

“If you like him so much, why didn’t you finish the job?”

“I was 16 and he was my friend!”

“Maybe he preferred your hot older brother anyway,” Izuru flipped his long hair over his shoulder before leaving the lounge to make his own coffee.

 

Hajime decided there was no point staying indoors where he was more likely to flip and attack his brother. He shut his laptop, took a deep breath, and called that he was going out. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed his phone and slammed the front door. He set on the path towards town and texted his best friend Kazuichi Souda.

 

< 'wanna get lunch before work?’

Moments later he received a response.

> 'in sandwich shop rn. meet me?’

 

A grin grew on Hajime’s face. Kazuichi knew him too well. He walked briskly in the direction of the local Subway, forgetting Izuru and Nagito for now.

 

When he entered the shop, he bought some lemonade and spotted Souda immediately. His friend’s crazy pink hair stood out from everyone else, and Hajime sat opposite him.

 

“Hey man, not getting a sandwich?” Kazuichi greeted with a mouth full of bread and lettuce.

“Not that hungry,” Hajime replied and sipped his drink.

“Work in half hour.”

“Yeah,” he swallowed the lemonade and felt sick almost straight away. “Izuru woke me up again last night, that emo man-whore.”

Kazuichi snorted at the insult, “Another chick? I’m nearly jealous.”

 “You’re gross. I’ll let him know he has a new apprentice wannabe.”

 

After chatting and finishing their food, they started the walk down to the Auto-Parts store they worked at. Hajime worked on the administration side of the shop, while Kazuichi’s expertise was parts and diagnostics. Honestly, Hajime thought Kazuichi could get a much better job as a mechanic, but needed the encouragement and confidence for it.

 

During their work, Kazuichi found the time stop by Hajime’s desk.

“Have you heard about Ibuki’s party this weekend, or have you been living under a rock?”

“Ibuki? Ibuki Mioda from high school?”

“Yeah. I’ve heard there’ll be drinks, girls and loud music. You gotta come with me,” Kazuichi grabbed Hajime’s shoulders in desperation. He lifted his friend’s arms off his shoulders and raised an eyebrow.

“Last time we went to a party, it sucked.”

“Yeah but that was Leon Kuwata’s,” Kazuichi tried to reason, “He’s no Ibuki Mioda.”

Hajime sighed. He did want to go to places with Kazuichi, but he was always conscious of what Izuru knew and didn’t know. If he started staying out late, or waking up outside of home, his brother would get suspicious. If he knew about Kazuichi, Hajime didn’t want to think about the consequences. The stinging memory of Nagito was enough. To add to that, Hajime wasn’t really a sociable person anyway.

 

“…I don’t know, man. Maybe,” he couldn’t look at Kazuichi’s eyes.

“Well it’s this weekend, so text me if you want a lift,” The pink haired boy patted Hajime’s shoulder before he left to his own station.

At 4pm, the two’s work was over, and Kazuichi persuaded Hajime to come to the local park for an hour. They claimed the swings, one swinging gently on his toes while the other chugged soda and complained loudly about his problems.

 

“So she actually smiled at him, _him,_ that jerk, and didn’t look my way once. I swear I’m invisible or something.”

“Sounds tough.”

“I’ve never seen _him_ makes her gifts. Ok, so he bought her a rabbit, but anyone could get a rabbit.”

“Uhuh.”

“Hey Hajime, you're bi-whatever, right?” Hajime rolled his eyes, “If you had to pick; me or Gundam ‘God complex’ Tanaka?”

“You, definitely.”

“Yeah, I know. But why doesn’t Sonia? Argh!”

“One day, she’ll wake up and realise that you’re the one she wants,” Hajime offered and stood up from the swing. “It’s late.”

“Hm? It’s five thirty,” Kazuichi stopped his rambling to look up at his friend.

“Yeah…the brother, you know? Plus, I haven’t eaten a thing today.”

 

 Both parts were mostly true. Izuru would go looking if he was back later than 6. Hajime hadn’t eaten properly since last week, so he’d need to get food from Izuru if he could. It was lucky that a blood diet could last so long.

“Alright. I’ll text you later.”

“See ya tomorrow.”

 

Hajime put his hands in his pockets and turned his back on Kazuichi. The evening chill had set in around the park, making the walk home more refreshing, but brought Hajime’s mind back to this morning’s conversation with Izuru. They both knew the dangers of an untrained vampire trying to hunt. So until Hajime agreed to learn, he was relying on his temperamental older brother for fresh food.

 

His harsh words of Nagito rang in his ears. That had been an awful experience for the younger, but apparently hilarious for the older one. Because of his unwillingness and inability to properly kill the white-haired boy, Izuru had to step in. To this day, neither knew what happened to Nagito. He was so close to death. It would be easy for Hajime to believe he died that night, but it was too likely that other hunters had found and attacked him.

 

Shaking his head to clear his darkening thoughts, Hajime arrived at his doorstep and walked inside.

“Izuru? You home?” He called without a response.

The boy groaned and sat down with his laptop. The feeling of hunger wasn’t good on his already-haunted mind. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough for him to go out on his own. He could wait for another hour or two. In less than half hour, the front door opened.

 

“See you tonight, Peko!” A laughing Izuru yelled out before shutting the door again, “Oh Hajime?”

“In here. I’m hungry,” He met eyes with his brother.  The deep red colour lit up with mischief.

“Are you? Then why don’t you eat?”

“I need you to get me some food,” Hajime kept his tone even and didn’t break eye contact. He was used to Izuru’s teasing.

“I didn’t hear a please, little brother,” Izuru smirked and landed ungracefully on the couch, “And I have a hunt-date with Peko tonight. She’ll be upset if I start without her. Can’t you wait?”

“Not for too long, though.”

“I’ll bring you the first thing I find at sundown. Then we’ll talk hunting again.”

This was the best he would get from Izuru today. With a nod, he unplugged his laptop and took it upstairs. He’d need to take his mind off eating until 7-8ish when his brother went out for the night.


	10. Sondam - Modern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt - A's cat/dog runs away and B finds it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, something reasonable....

Since moving to the mainland, Sonia Nevermind led a nice and simple life. She worked in a coffee shop, kept a flowering garden, and looked after a rescue cat named Buttons. As the sun dawned on one Tuesday morning, Sonia was up getting ready for work.

"Buttons! Buttons?" She called through the house. Usually he'd be out for breakfast by now, but she hadn't seen him last night. 

Sonia glanced at the clock with 5 minutes to go, quickly checked in Buttons's sleeping spots, and promised to find him later. She left his bowl of fish kibble on the floor, locking the front door behind her as she went. 

* * *

 

Six hours later Sonia arrived back at her house, and the first thing she noticed was a full bowl of fish kibble. So Buttons hadn't come home yet? Or maybe he just didn't eat, she tried to tell herself. Despite those possibilities, Sonia was nervous. She made him a fresh bowl of food, this time using his favourite treats, and decided that if he wasn't back tomorrow, she could ask the neighbours.

Next morning, there was still no sign of Buttons.

Still, Sonia prepared another food bowl and left for work at the same time in the morning.   
When her shift was over and an untouched bowl of cat food sat on her kitchen floor, Sonia immediately left the house again. 

"Excuse me!" She spoke to her neighbour after knocking, "You haven't seen my cat Buttons have you? The white and brown one with fluffy ears."

"No, sorry. Good luck finding it," They simply said apologetically, then left Sonia in the street with increasing nervousness. 

Was it too soon to make signs? The posters that she saw around town, with a cute picture of the lost pet and some details. Was Buttons lost? Or just found somewhere else to eat for the day? Sonia was determined not to lose Buttons. The posters would advertise her missing cat, and if she found him, she could just take them down again.

 

20 copies in hand, Sonia set out. She started along the streetlights, then the local park, then the corner shop, the pet shop, and her coffee shop let her stick one in the window. After, she was exhausted. Hopefully her work would pay off soon.

* * *

 

Thursday morning broke over the street and Sonia woke up with red eyes. She hadn't slept until ridiculously late, even though she had work. Before she left, she always made a fresh food bowl.  
On returning at half past one, a piece of paper sitting on her doormat startled her, and she got excited when she saw a picture of a familiar furry face. Sonia picked it up and examined it closely.   
It was one of her posters that she put up yesterday, with a note scribbled on the back.

'I think I have located your cat.'

There was an address under it. Deciding not to hesitate, she changed from her uniform and followed the address to the mystery house on her bicycle.

Eventually Sonia reached the correct street, hopped off her bike, and searched for number 78. 72, 74, 76... At the end of the road, there was a house larger than the others. It overshadowed everyone elses and the land seemed to stretch out behind into the woods. This is where Buttons was?

The Novoselic girl straightened her shoulders and approached whoever might be in the house. She knocked three times. Footsteps echoed behind the door.

"Hello, miss?" The man who opened the front door was not quite what Sonia was expecting. He was very tall with a strange coloured flick in his hair, and a white shirt and purple scarf. In his bandaged hands he held a fat brown hamster and Sonia noticed another one poking from his jeans pocket.

"Ah, did you leave this address on this poster?" She held out the paper to him, "Might you know something about my cat?"

Immediately, he took the paper and nodded sharply.

"Yes! You are Buttons's carer, correct?" The man had a loud voice to match his tall stature. Somehow, Sonia decided she liked it. 

"I am. He's very dear to me, but hasn't been home for a long time."

The man smiled sagely, "I understand. Please, come in and I'll bring him to you."

He disappeared down the hallway and left the door open for Sonia. Taking his word, she stepped inside.

Moments later his footsteps returned, and a grin lit up her face. Her scarfed saviour had Buttons in his arms. Before thinking, she dashed towards him and hugged Buttons with her arms wide. 

"Buttons, you naughty kitty! Where have you been? I was looking everywhere!" She kissed her cat's head and brushed her fingers through his fur. When the man holding him coughed, Sonia stood up again and went slightly red to the face. Unexpectedly, the man was also blushing faintly. 

"I'm sorry," she absently stroked Buttons, "Where are my manners? My name is Sonia Nevermind."

"I am Gundam Tanaka, animal and pet expert," he answered. 

"How did you come across Buttons?" Several questions popped into her head at Gundam's introduction, but she saved them.

"Well," he began, "he found his way to me. As you may tell, I take pride in my work with animals and keep a variety in my home. Naturally, I have a detailed roster of all my pets, and just two days ago I spotted a new addition to the cats." Sonia was focused on what he was saying, but couldn't help noticing how much she liked his voice.

"I have been calling him Walnut since I didn't know his real name, but I see Buttons suits him more."

"Walnut..." she contemplated the name and found it quite endearing.

"Early this morning walking my dogs, I saw your poster. Perhaps...perhaps I should have just phoned you, but I like to return pets in person."

"Do you find lost pets often?" Sonia asked. 

"Oh yes," Gundam replied easily, "My animal utopia is attractive to many local house pets. Even a python once."

She laughed, wondering how someone loses a python in the first place. However, she was just glad to know Buttons was safe and could come home.

"Thank you, Mr Tanaka. I won't disrupt your day any longer."

Gundam handed the cat over to Sonia with an uneasy smile, "No, no, my time is for the creatures of this Earth." 

They walked back down the hall to the front door and she stepped outside, beaming at her cat's saviour. 

"Farewell Mr Tanaka. Thanks again."

"Good day Miss."

She turned down the street and heard the door shut behind her. With Buttons in arms, she reached her bicycle, placed him in the front basket and whispered to him, "Do you like Mr Tanaka, Buttons?" He meowed in response and they cycled home.

* * *

 

Two weeks passed, same old. Sonia had mostly forgotten about Gundam, but remembered to keep a special eye out for Buttons before bed. On an unparticular morning, she called for her cat as usual with a filled bowl. No sign of him. Suspicion built in Sonia, but she left the bowl and went to work.

In the afternoon after work, Sonia noticed another filled cat bowl and  a missed call on her mobile from an unknown number. She was decided to call back, to see if it was anyone about Buttons. Suddenly as she was tapping the number in, the same caller rang again. Sonia picked up.

"Hello?"

"Miss Nevermind?" She recognised that voice. Without wanting to seem strange, she didn't call him Mr Tanaka straight away.

"How can I help you?"

"It's Gundam Tanaka, who found your cat a while ago."

"Good afternoon, Mr Tanaka."

"I was wondering if you found yourself looking for Buttons once again?"

Sonia sighed, out of relief rather than frustration, "I have, actually. Has he come back to your lovely home?"

"Ah-- yes. This moment, he is demanding that I scratch him behind the ears."

Sonia laughed, "By all means, don't let me stop you from doing that."

His muffled laugh returned through the phone, "Yes, how would you like to collect him this time? I could come to--"

"Don't worry," she said before he could finish, "I know where you live, so I'll be there in 10?"

"I suppose, yes, that's fine," Gundam sounded flustered.

"Ok then, Mr Tanaka. I'll be right over."

"Call me Gundam, miss," he quickly said before she could hang up. 

"And I'm Sonia," an awkward pause passed over them, "Well goodbye." 

Hanging up and pocketing her phone, the memory of her previous to Gundam's house came to mind. Maybe before she left, she'd change into something a little nicer... just to make a good impression. 

* * *

 

Sonia dismounted her bike as she arrived back on his street. The clouds grew darker in the sky, so she half wanted to make the visit quick. She knocked and waited to hear his footsteps.

"Afternoon Miss Sonia. Care to come inside?" Gundam opened the door wide and put on a charming smile. She felt an odd flutter as she grinned back and nodded.

"Thank you, Gundam, but we agreed to drop the 'miss's."

Today, Gundam was wearing a long black coat over his shirt that made him look taller. Noticeably more care had been put into his hair, and the hamster still resided in his pocket. 

"I didn't know that Buttons would grow so attached to my home," Gundam said, retrieving the cat from another room, "But I think he has a particular friend he visits."

Sonia took Buttons from Gundam and lovingly stroked his patched fur with a questioning look.

"A friend?" She asked. He coughed uncomfortably.

"Well, a lady friend. I find him in the company of one of mine, Violette, very often. They are fond of each other."

"Oh, how cute!" Sonia couldn't hold in the slight squeal to her words, "Buttons, have you fallen in love? Have you? With Violette, that's so romantic!"

As Sonia excitedly tickled Buttons's ears, Gundam went pink to the face.  
"I-Uh...would you like to meet Violette? I mean, if you..."

"I'd love to!"

He left the room and she sat down on a couch with Buttons in her lap. She took the time to notice her surroundings. In the fairly large room, there were cages piled high on the shelves, supposedly homing rodents of all kinds. Cat towers and scratching posts stood in the corners, and even a bright fish tank teeming with tiny colourful fish decorated the windowsill. Gundam was undeniably a pet extraordinaire. 

When he re-entered, he was holding a dark brown cat with a purple bow on her collar. 

"This is Violette, a high maintenance lady who rarely leaves the house," Gundam spoke fondly of her and placed her on the couch beside Sonia, "It's understandable why Buttons has taken a shine to her."

Violette climbed up to the back of the couch and settled near Sonia's neck. They both watched as Buttons jumped out of Sonia's arms, and followed suit exactly. 

"Well I never. My Buttons, having a kitty crush!"

Gundam sat down, a considerable space between them, and leaned forward to touch Violette's ears. Sonia noticed his bandages once again, and grew curious.

"Are those bandages from handling animals all the time?" She asked with a frown. How good could he be if they were biting and scratching him?

"Partially, yes, they are preventing damage to my skin from claws and teeth," his loud voice paused, and he looked like he wanted to say more. Sonia thought it would be impolite to press on, so she changed the subject with a smirk. 

"Does Violette get suitors often?"

"Surprisingly, she's quite the unsociable cat. Though I encourage her to play with the others, there are always those destined for loneliness," Gundam had a sad hint in his voice. She patted Buttons, a smile growing on her face.

"Not anymore! She has a new friend."

At her words, Gundam looked almost startled, staring at Sonia. She couldn't help glancing away as the seconds passed awkwardly, but was distracted by a pattering on the window.

"Oh no!" She cried dramatically, rising to look through the window.

Rain had started falling hard on the street as she gazed at her dripping bicycle on the road. Gundam had also stood up when she did, but was staring hard at the two cats curled on the head of the sofa.

"Unfortunate..." Gundam muttered, mostly to himself. His voice still had the qualities that held her vivid attention, but it's low volume made her want to listen closer. 

"I'm sorry to be a bother. Would you mind if I stayed until the rain passes?" Sonia took a few hesitant steps towards him. He looked up. 

"Of course," A smile returned to his face, "No cat I've known likes the rain. Care for coffee?" Whatever had been bothering him had clearly blown over. 

"Oh, a tea would be wonderful, if you have it. Thank you, Gundam."

They exchanged another smile, and she instantly felt more relaxed. 

* * *

 

"And you can tell when a female cat wants attention by their posture. It's similar to the male's, but differs entirely to her play position."

"Yes, yes, I see!"

Sonia held the warm mug in her hands and nodded with rapt attention. Gundam knew so much about animal behaviour, and was eager to share with her. He sipped his coffee slowly and stroked Violette's fur. 

"This one, though, much prefers the company of people. And Buttons, of course."

"How odd," Sonia thought aloud, "I wonder what it is about him."

Gundam raised his eyebrows, "I am rare to admit it, but I wonder too. This time, I don't know what she's thinking or feeling."

"Are cats capable of love?" She said quietly to herself. Gundam must've heard, because he leaned back with eyes trained on both cats.

"Yes, I believe they are."

Sonia hid her pinking cheeks by swallowing the last mouthfuls of tea in her mug. With a sigh, she looked out of the window where the sun was shining.

"The rain has gone, and even taken the clouds."

Though this should've been a good thing to Sonia, she felt she hadn't had long enough to talk to Gundam. Standing from her chair, she picked Buttons up with her who resisted slightly with a meow.

"I'll be going then. Thank you so much again. For everything."

"It's nothing, Miss--sorry, Sonia."

Walking the front door for the second time, Violette followed by Gundam's feet as they left. Sonia waved to the man with a grin, mounting her bike and securing Buttons in the basket.

"I'll let you know if he comes back?" Gundam called from the doorway and Sonia nodded.

"Please do!"

Cycling away to their home, Sonia whispered down to Buttons once more, smiling.

"I think I like Mr Tanaka, too."


	11. Kamukoma - Masquerade AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt - meeting at a masked ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> absolutely forgot that I had missed this one! originally written for snibsy on tumblr<3

The mask was pale yellow, with red accents trimming the edge. Perfect for the evening in which Nagito Komaeda would meet all his new classmates. However, he wasn’t allowed to actually meet them, as the ball was meant for anonymity. Everyone in the ballroom would be attending Hope’s Peak, and everyone would have a Super High School Level…

For one night, he could pretend he fit in with them, and they wouldn’t be bothered by his cheated and talentless presence. Komaeda could dance, talk and drink with his idols under this mask.

Slipping it over his head and eyes, he got out of the car and walked down towards the ball. He noticed other masked students arriving, and his heart beat a little faster. When he reached the grand building, the butlers (who were also masked) held open the doors for him to pass. It was easy to tell this event was set up by the rich and prestigious. He showed his invitation with a smile.

The ballroom was bigger than Komaeda expected. Dimmed chandeliers hung from the ceiling, stained ornate windows lined the walls, and countless formally-dressed and masked students stood around in groups, drinking, dancing and chatting.

Although he tried to shake the feeling of being out of place, Komaeda couldn’t bring himself to strike up a conversation with anyone. Instead, he picked up a drink and stood watching people dance.

There was a short blonde girl twirling with a pink mask. Another girl was surrounded by boys, wearing a red mask and a green dress. One boy was wearing a full-faced purple mask, laughing wildly at another student’s joke. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and it made Komaeda smile to himself.

He soon spotted someone else who was isolated. Their long, black hair made it difficult to tell their gender, but the suit gave Komaeda a clue. They wore a black mask over their eyes with red accents.

This student must’ve felt Komaeda’s gaze, because they turned to look at him. _I need to stop drawing attention to myself,_ he thought, quickly directing his eyes away. When he looked up again, the student was approaching.

“Good evening.” The dark-haired student spoke sharply. Komaeda decided they were a boy.

“Ah, hello there. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable at all…” He was very glad for the mask to cover his colouring cheeks.

The boy simply made a ‘tch’ sound, before leaning on the wall beside Komaeda, looking out over the other students.

“I have never been fond of social gatherings. Or perhaps, maybe I once was,” he said cryptically, causing Komaeda to look back at him. Under the mask, he could see his eyes were red.

“I haven’t been to many myself, but…I like to see everyone else enjoying themselves,” Komaeda replied, gesturing to the people dancing to the lively music. When the other boy didn’t respond, he offered him a smile.

“I don’t see the appeal,” He said flippantly, taking a sip of his drink.

“I suppose its better when you’re having fun too,” Komaeda tried, “Even in such a big and amazing event, where you have to introduce yourself from under a mask, and you’re meeting the world’s most talented teenagers who will soon be your classmates!”

By now, the strange boy was staring at him. The glint of red under his mask was trained directly on Komaeda, making him feel uneasy.

“I’m sorry, I’m very excited about coming to the school,” He apologised, avoiding eye contact.

“Nagito Komaeda.”

“Huh? Y-you know my name? I’d hoped this would be more anonymous…” The white haired boy laughed nervously. The other boy was still staring, and now he knew his name.

“Dance with me.” He said it like a command, and Komaeda’s first instinct was to accept. He nodded, taking his offered hand, leading them both to the dance floor.

_I’m going to embarrass myself, I don’t know how to dance!_ Komaeda’s thoughts were all over the place.  Why had the strange student wanted to dance with him? They should at least get to know each other first…

Luckily, both of their dancing was clumsy and offbeat. The other guests weren’t paying them much attention. Komaeda was even starting to enjoy himself, until he noticed that his dance partner had yet to smile. His eyes still unnerved him, too.

After a few minutes more, the long-haired boy leaned forward closer. A light blush spread over Komaeda’s skin under the mask.

“Get out of here while you can,” He whispered suddenly, making Komaeda frown.

“I thought I was starting to have fun…”

“No, you need to. Something very bad is going to happen soon, and it’s going to take all these students with it. Save yourself,” His voice grew more intense and Komaeda’s heart skipped a beat.

“I don’t understand. How do you know? Who are you?”

They had stopped dancing, but the boy kept a grip on Komaeda.

“Super High School Level Despair.”

He said it so quietly, Komaeda was sure if he’d misheard. Despite that, the continuous red stare of this student sent icy chills down his spine. _Despair, in a place for hope?_

Not wanting to argue with such a scary person, Komaeda took a few steps back. The Despair student didn’t move. He turned through the other students, and walked calmly out of the door. Every part of Komaeda thought it was a bad idea, but he left anyway.

The next day, there was a mass disappearance. 


	12. Vampire AU (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of continuation from chapter 9's vamp au

“Hajime…? Hajime? Are you listening?” 

He blinked a few times, returning his thoughts to the here and now. “Huh?” 

“Are you alright, dude? You spaced out pretty hard,” Kazuichi slowed his walk, and put a hand on Hajime’s shoulder.

 “Yeah, I’m alright… Guess I haven't eaten enough today.” 

While this was true, he didn't think it through before it was too late for Hajime to pick another excuse. He flinched as his friend gave him a concerned smile. 

“Wanna go get somethin? There's a convenience store just down the road. I’ll buy.” 

“No, it's fine,” Hajime returned the smile. “I've got enough food at home, I'd feel bad.” 

Kazuichi patted his shoulder once, seeming like he might argue some more, but accepted Hajime’s smile and continued walking beside him. 

“So, like I was saying, I found this crazy theory online that just...explains so much stuff.” 

“What's that?” 

“Get this: vampires.” 

That got Hajime’s full and direct attention. What on earth had Kazuichi found? What did he know? 

“O-oh. That sounds…’ 

“Crazy, I know. But it totally makes sense. You know all those bodies that were found outside town a while ago, with all the blood drained outta them?” 

“I thought they said that was just a wild animal attack…” 

“And these weird disappearances of teens? You notice how that stuff never gets reported on the news?” 

“They can't report every runaway teenager, Kazuichi.” 

“They're not runaways, though. It's a cover up. These kids are being eaten or turned into vampires, and there's a big vampire organisation out there covering it all up.” 

This was very dangerous. How did he get this information? And if he went running his mouth to the wrong people… He stuck to playing cool. 

“A vampire organisation, huh? This isn't a horror movie.” 

“There was a woman- a journalist - who was piecing it all together and writing a big article about this town's vampire infestation. But guess what? She vanished before she could finish it. Her husband is hiding and finishing her work online.” 

“That's crazy. You're crazy.” 

“It's real!” Kazuichi was all-too serious. “You wanna know the best part?” 

“Kaz-” 

His voice dropped low. “I think I know someone who’s one of them. A vampire.” 

Hajime’s heart skipped a beat. He instinctively glanced around for any witnesses. He heard Izuru’s voice in his head: _Plan for a kill. Quick and quiet._  

He hesitated, stopping in his tracks. Last resort. “Who's that?” 

Kazuichi nudged into Hajime as he stopped with a frown. 

“It's Gundam, obviously. Doesn't that explain everything? The way he talks, the way he dresses, his ‘dangerous charm’...” 

Hajime laughed out of sheer relief. 

“Oh my god, you're actually nuts.” 

“Hey! I think there's truth in it somewhere. You just can't handle it. Quit laughing at me, man!” Despite the offense taken, Kazuichi was grinning. 

“Give it up, Kazuichi. Really, don't go spreading that garbage around.”   

“Fine, fine. I guess it does make me sound a little crazy. But you could imagine it, right Hajime?” 

“That’s too creepy conspiracy theory.” He kept the smile plastered on his face, finding a topic to change to. ”Hey, Ibuki Mioda’s party is tomorrow.” 

“Yeah it is! Have you finally decided to go with me? My best friend wouldn’t make me go alone.” 

Kazuichi beamed, fluttering his eyelashes and brushing his arm up against Hajime’s. He rolled his eyes at him. 

“Sure. I normally don’t like parties, but for my best friend… H-hey, stop!” 

Kazuichi threw his arm around Hajime’s shoulders and squeezed, skipping down the road. Hajime blushed at his best friend’s ridiculousness - what if someone saw them? 

“Hell yeah! Hinata and Souda, partners in crime, kings of the party, vampire hunters-” 

“Well, this is my road! My brother’s probably made food so I should get going.” 

The pink-haired boy released him. “Make sure you eat it all up, you’re starting to look a little pale. Text me and we can talk about tomorrow night!” 

“Yeah, I will.” 

They parted ways, Hajime waving Kazuichi off as he turned into their cul-de-sac. When he got into his home, he threw off his bag and shoes, and heard his brother from in the lounge. 

“Hajime? Where’ve you been?” 

Hajime sighed. He headed towards the lounge, ready to remind his brother that he was a functioning member of society with a day job. 

“In case you forgot-- wh-what are you doing?” He stepped into the doorway, not expecting what he saw. 

The lounge was half-covered in a white plastic sheet, with a glass table in the centre. Lined up neatly on the table were several bottles, filled with a thick, red liquid Hajime could identify by smell alone. His brother was sitting nearby, empty bottle in hand, piping blood into it from a suspicious black crate with a familiar logo on the side. 

Izuru had a sly grin, enjoying Hajime’s incredulous look. “What does it look like I’m doing?” 

“You- You’re blood-bottling. I’m pretty sure that’s against the code.” 

“Oh no, what are you gonna do? Call the cops? Then you’ll be living alone, and no one would be around to feed you.” 

“Shut up,” Hajime ignored the taunt. “Why are you doing this? Are you going somewhere?” 

“Hm, no, nothing like that. I’ve just decided to start making some money, that’s all.” 

Making money…? Hajime looked over everything in front of him. Bottling and selling blood, even among vampires, was definitely frowned upon. It was gross, unhealthy, and heavily restricted due to the risk of exposure. But the logo on the crate… was the Kuzuryuu clan crest. They were the ones who controlled this sort of thing. Was Izuru working for them? 

Hajime frowned at his brother’s smirk. “Wh- How..?”

“Figured it out, have you? Peko got me in. They’re paying good cash for every crate of these puppies I can fill.” 

That sounded like nothing but trouble. 

“I bet you’re hungry. Go on, try one.” Izuru tossed him the small, clear bottle he had just filled. Hajime caught it, popped the lid off, and sniffed it. 

“Gross.” It didn’t smell fresh, but curiosity and hunger overwhelmed his spite. He took a mouthful, sputtering slightly on the sharp, tangy taste. It tasted of chemicals. His mouth twisted in disgust. 

“What is _in_ that? It tastes like a drug addict who’s been dead for weeks.” 

Izuru shrugged. “They want it mixed with a little medication. Relax, it’s just caffeine and fluoxetine.” 

“Thanks for the warning…” Hajime rolled his eyes, “why do they want antidepressants in their food anyway? And why bottle it?” 

“That, little brother, is classified information. You can keep that one. You’re welcome!” Izuru called out to Hajime as he left, going upstairs to his room. 

Hajime finished the bottle rather reluctantly. If his brother was working for the Kuzuryuu clan now, maybe he’d be out of his way more often. Though, the whole operation was shady, and when he’d said ‘classified information’, he had a feeling even Izuru didn’t know. Whatever. He threw the empty bottle in the trash, and lay back on his bed in the growing darkness. 

He checked his phone to find a picture message from Kazuichi - a selfie of him walking down the street, grinning like an idiot, filtered to have cat ears and whiskers on his face. Hajime grinned right back, just sending a few blushing emojis in reply.  

Kazuichi scared him earlier. How close he’d come to the truth, just from digging around on some accidentally accurate theory sites. Hopefully, that was just a passing thought. Hajime would try to keep him occupied with stuff like parties and work, away from his more personal life. 

Last time someone got too close… Well, he still didn’t know if Nagito was alive. The heavy guilt weighed on him everyday, the dark memory often in his dreams. He couldn’t let something like that happen to Kazuichi. He'd never forgive himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm jumping back into my dangan ronpa phase, so feel free to hit me with suggestions, comments, and kudos!!
> 
> especially now that i've finished ndrv3 (which i yell about @ hinasouda.tumblr.com)


	13. Saimota - Modern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lil fic that came out of a prompt on my blog. mucho fluff.

Somewhere in the deep corners of the library, a student was sitting alone. Shuichi had his head bowed into a criminology textbook, focusing hard on each word, forcing them to process in his brain. He’d been on the same page for an hour, frowning at the walls of text. Maybe it’d been longer than an hour.  

But there was always a test coming up, a practical, a friend who needed help with notes, let alone the exams. That’s why he was always studying. If he ever wanted to become a real detective. If he wanted to prove himself, he’d…

...fallen asleep on the desk. When Kaito found him and gently jostled him awake, the library was near-empty, cast in the dark blue of early evening.

“Come on, Shuichi. Let’s get you back to your room, okay?”

“...mhm… Must’ve...dozed off…”

Kaito just chuckled, helped him up, and carried his books back to his room.

 

* * *

 

Kaito was happy once Shuichi was wrapped in a large sweater, curled in an armchair, and drinking hot tea.

“Thank you, Kaito. I’m sorry I missed your calls…”

He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I figured where you’d be after the last few times. Are you still not getting enough sleep?”

“I thought I was, but I guess not.” Shuichi took another sip of tea, if only to hide his face. Kaito was pretty fussy when it came to worrying about Shuichi.

“I think you’re still stressed. It’s fine - normal, even, for someone who works as hard as you. But you don’t have a way to de-stress. Even your hobbies are stressful, right?”

Kaito sighed, crossing his legs on the couch. He remembered finding Shuichi chewing his lip over a giant tome, like it was withholding some secret knowledge. When he asked, Shuichi had said it was a bit of light research. Kaito scooted a little closer, continuing.

“Sooo, I wanna ask you to take a break tonight. There’s actually somewhere I want to take you.”

Shuichi gave him a strange look. “I don’t mind doing something else… Where would we go?”

“It’s a surprise,” Kaito grinned, then became serious again. “Unless you’re tired; you look kinda exhausted, so I don’t wanna keep you up.”

“Keep me up…?” Shuichi took another sip without looking Kaito in the eyes. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s a surprise! I promise you, as my best friend, that it’ll be awesome.”

Shuichi’s heart beat a little faster. Kaito’s smile was contagious. “Alright.”

 

* * *

 

Shuichi tried to deduce Kaito’s surprise as he watched him pack a bag for the car.

Blankets, jumpers, fluffy socks, and warm flasks.

It was 9:30pm, the sun had long disappeared in the horizon.

Kaito wouldn’t let him see the sat-nav, but the fact that he’d need to use it told Shuichi that it was somewhere out of town.

The conclusion he drew was something like  _ stargazing _ .

As they got in Kaito’s car, Shuichi could tell his friend was buzzing with quiet excitement. He was humming to whatever came on the radio, and asked more than twice if Shuichi was warm enough.

Why would Kaito take him stargazing?

It seemed like something Kaito would do - he talked enough about space and the universe to be the type to go through this much trouble to watch it pass by. But Kaito had a telescope at his window, Shuichi had seen several times. And maybe he was plain wrong, but stargazing sounded like something couples did together.

He took a glance at the man driving. He was bouncing his leg, mumbling the words to a Queen song, staring straight out at the road with unwavering focus. Kaito looked nervous.

 

* * *

 

“Here we are! Grab a blanket, Shuichi. And your hot chocolate.”

Kaito pulled a picnic sheet out of the bag, wrapped his coat around himself, then stepped outside. There was a refreshingly chill breeze in the air.

Laying the blankets out on a patch of grass, Kaito used the bag to hold it down as he brought Shuichi over.

“Go ahead, take a seat.”

Shuichi sat on the grass, the sheet barely keeping the cold and strange texture from underneath him. Still, he put on another sweater, a blanket, and held his flask close. Kaito settled beside him. He could still feel the nervous energy emanating from him, like there was something he desperately wanted to say.

“Never expected we’d be coming here,” Shuichi offered.

“Yeah, I know it’s a little weird. Maybe it wasn’t an  _ amazing _ idea to bring you out so late, but…”

Kaito trailed off, leaning his head back and gazing into the sky. Shuichi did the same, and was taken aback by the sight.

Out here, on a hill outside of town, the vast sky was completely open. The moon was thin, curved, but brighter than the sun. The stars were so individual, twinkling and blinking in different sizes and shapes. Subtle colours and patterns were inked into the darkness, and Shuichi guessed they were galaxies. The sheer amount of stars blew him away. This kind of vision couldn't be captured on a camera. There was simply too much to explore.

Before either of them had realised, they were laying and staring up in silence for almost ten minutes. Kaito’s voice was hushed.

“Isn’t it incredible?”

Shuichi could only nod in childlike wonder.

“This is my favourite place to be. Especially when I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed.”

“Yeah... I can understand. It makes all the bad things seem small.”

Kaito tilted his head to smile at Shuichi. “Exactly.”

Something moved in the corner of Shuichi’s eye. A streak of white light, travelling for a full second, before vanishing.

“Oh, Kaito! There! I think I saw a shooting star!” He pointed in the direction, heart swelling. “Make a wish.”

Kaito only smirked. “Then it’s starting. I hope you’ve got a lot of wishes saved up, man.”

More streaks of light flashed before their eyes; some in tiny, rapid clusters; sometimes with long periods between them; and then some that dazzled across the sky in a wide arc.

Shuichi released a breath he’d been holding, feeling a weight slip off his shoulders.

“Wow.”

“I’ve- I’ve been waiting for months for the next one of these. Easy to forget how amazing it is.”

“What is it?”

“A meteor shower. Only a few every year, most of the time they’re too hard to see.” Kaito chuckled, “Yeah, sorry, they’re not really stars. But they’re still beautiful, and they still carry wishes.”

Shuichi stopped himself from asking what he’d wished for. That’d be way too cheesy, or too personal. Plus, Kaito would expect him to answer, too. Instead, Shuichi thanked him.

“Thank you for bringing me here, Kaito.”

He was silent for a long moment. Then he shrugged, but didn’t look Shuichi in the eyes.

“It’s fine. Like I said, this is my favourite place to be. Makes sense I’d bring my favourite person along, too.”

Shuichi bit his lip, heart picking up pace once more. “Me?”

“Well, yeah, dummy. I’m not hiding anyone in the trunk, I promise.”

Kaito laughed, and Shuichi couldn’t help his silly smile. They watched for a while longer, losing count of the meteors and wishes, instead just letting the beautiful sight and serenity wash over them.

As soon as Shuichi shivered, Kaito sat up. “Ah, we can’t stay out here forever. Kaede’d kill me if you caught a cold.”

“I’m fine…” He lied, feeling shivers break out over his skin with another cold breeze.

“Here’s me giving you trouble over not sleeping, then keeping you out late. Guess I gotta work on that thought process, huh.” Kaito stood up and stretched, pulling his coat off. “Here.”

Shuichi was too startled by the offer to refuse. He let him drape the coat over his shoulders, a yawn escaping him. “Th-thanks.”

They picked up their things, bundled back into the car, and Kaito turned the radio down low. Shuichi fell asleep against the window, wrapped in the warm coat and familiar smell of stardust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos appreciated! sent me more prompts!
> 
> maybe i don't hint to my blog enough?  
> http://hinasouda.tumblr.com


	14. Saimota - Snow Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh boyy, another prompt fill for the word 'warmth' ♥

Shuichi woke up, bleary-eyed, to his phone buzzing repeatedly. It rattled to the edge of the table and almost fell off.

When he unlocked it, he found a dozen messages in their class group chat. Photos streamed in of Kaito, Maki, and Tenko on their morning run, wrapped up in scarves and big coats. The entire field was white with snow. Looking out the window, Shuichi saw snowflakes still gently falling past.

Kaito’s final message was a blurry candid of Maki, glaring at the camera. It said: ‘come to the park if u want ur butt kicked!!’

Grinning and rubbing sleep out of his eyes, Shuichi got up to find his gloves and boots.

* * *

 

The park was layered with at least four inches of snow. Students were coming out of their dorms dressed up in wintery clothes, buzzing to enjoy the rare snow day that was given. As Shuichi arrived, he spotted Kaito and a few other classmates rolling huge snowballs along the ground.

“Hey!” Kaito waved him over. He was wearing a beanie hat and mismatched gloves.

He greeted Gonta, Tenko, and Tsumugi, who were offering the giant snowballs to a twirling Angie. She claimed that she was going to build some beautiful, Atua-inspired snow statues, and Shuichi agreed he was looking forward to it.

Even Ryoma and Himiko were out, though half as energetic, they seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. Rantaro was taking pictures of everyone for his blog, and Kiibo was barely able to move in the layers of jackets, coats, and fluffy scarves he was wearing.  

“Shuichi!” Kaito jogged up to him. “When was the last time we had a snow day, huh? Let’s make the most of it!”

He smiled at his friend’s enthusiasm. “What do you have planned?”

“I thought we could a snowball fight with everyone later. And Kirumi said she was gonna bring hot fudge brownies for after!”

The idea of a mass-snowball fight made Shuichi a little nervous, but Kaito was obviously excited for it.

“Well…we can help Angie with her sculptures for now.”

“Alright!” Kaito threw him a thumbs up, then leaned an inch closer. “Oh, and watch out for Kokichi. Don’t let him sneak up behind you with any snow.”

Despite the cold, Kaito radiated warmth as he leaned in. He paused for a moment, holding a breath, skipping a heartbeat. He  _had_  to get this crush under control.

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

When Kaito returned to the others, Shuichi immediately missed that warmth. He must’ve shown something on his face, as nearby Rantaro waved his hand with a sly look. Shuichi flushed, shook his head, and went to take a walk around the park.

* * *

 

Some time later, Angie had crafted two lifelike snow-people with such detail in their features, Shuichi thought the falling snow was going to disfigure them in minutes. Gonta was in the middle of building a snow-beetle, which was a smooth lump of snow covered in leaves.

The rest of the group had shown; Kaede had a coffee in each hand, following Kirumi with her tray of brownies; Miu was barely dressed for autumn, visibly shivering, but seemed to be enjoying herself anyway; and Kiyo had settled on a bench with a book, content to watch.

Shuichi watched as Tenko became Kokichi’s first victim. He was sure that Tenko would’ve heard Kokichi’s snickering, as he crept up behind her with a handful of snow. But she was too focused on her conversation with Himiko.

Her high pitched ‘eek!’ made Shuichi jump out of his skin. Kokichi stuffed the snow down the back of her jacket and  _ran_ , cackling all the way. Tenko’s expression was scary as she gave chase.

“If she catches him, Ouma may die,” Kaito said solemnly.

Shuichi laughed. “I hope he’s fast, for our sake.”

They kept running, chasing, dodging between Angie’s sculptures and unsuspecting classmates. They were both fast, but Kokichi was starting to pant, while Tenko hadn’t broken a sweat. Kokichi slowed to a stop and brought his hands up.

“Wow Tenko, I’m sorry, okay? I’ll let you hit me with a snowball for free. Come on, make it a good one, and we’ll call it even?”

She stared him down, then gathered a nasty-looking snowball. Himiko turned away, muttering, “I can’t watch.” Rantaro grimaced but pulled up his camera.

Once the snowball was launched, Kokichi did an acrobatic dive-roll. Strategically placed behind him was Ryoma, like the Archduke Ferdinand, the snowball clocked him on the head, knocking his hat clean off.

By now, everyone was watching. Tenko’s eyes went from blazing fury, to pure terror.

Ryoma picked up his hat and brushed it off. “So that’s the game we’re playing…”

“R-Ryoma! That was, uh, totally an accident. I mean, Kokichi–”

There was no mercy left in the ex-Tennis player. He was ruthlessly quick, and his swing was strong enough to knock most people out. The snowball shot like a cold bullet, missing Tenko’s head by mere centimeters.

“I’ll give you five seconds to run.”

Everyone scattered.

* * *

 

The simple, fun snowball fight Kaito planned became much more like a war. The park was a battlefield of barricades and trenches, with three teams plotting their moves.

Before Shuichi could really pick a side, he’d been pulled behind a snow barricade by Kaede, with Tenko, Himiko, Tsumugi, Rantaro, and Angie. He saw Kaito duck behind the opposite side. The next time he saw him, it’d likely be in battle.

With Tenko scouting, Angie and Kaede drew up the plan of attack. Himiko would stay and supply the ammunition from the safe zone, with Tsumugi laying cover fire from a distance. He and Rantaro were the frontline (or ‘meat shields’, as Tenko explained), for the other girls to try and knock down the enemy lines.

Of course, they also had to distract the neutral team. Wandering in the no man’s land, Ryoma and Maki carried their weapons, ready to aim at the first thing that moved. Gonta stayed outside as well, apparently immune to snowballs.

“So I’ll go and try to convince Maki to join us, while you and Tenko go with Rantaro and Shuichi, and push as far across as you can. Destroy as much of their walls and ammo as you can, got it?”

Kaede made a convincing leader, and Shuichi found himself getting fired up. If he saw Kaito out there, he wasn’t going to hold back. Everyone pitched in to make a final batch of snowballs before they set out.

“Wait - do you hear that?” Tenko hushed everyone and peeked over their barricade. “Someone’s coming.”

Before they could ask who, a quiet voice called out. “I come in peace! Take me to your leader!”

“Get lost, Kokichi!”

“Aww, man. I have juicy secrets from the other side of the field, but I guess I’ll take them to Ryoma instead…”

“Deserter! Why are you even here?” Tenko hissed at him.

“Those guys didn’t give me an exciting role, so I’m snitching! Isn’t that obvious?”

Rantaro and Shuichi shared a glance. This couldn’t end well. The team looked between each other, ultimately falling to Kaede. She shrugged.

“Might as well hear what he’s got to say?”

“Yaaay!” He hopped over their defenses and planted himself among the team. “You guys are gonna need a lot more snowballs. Miu’s installing an automated snowball flinger inside Kiibo, and Kirumi’s gonna bribe Gonta with sweets.”

“Great. Now what are they actually planning?” Rantaro asked coolly.

Kokichi pouted. “Alright, one of those two things is true. I wasn’t listening to anything else Kaito was saying, so I have no idea what they’re planning!”

It took a full minute for Himiko to convince Tenko not to bury him alive, let alone raise her voice. Meanwhile, the others came up with a back-up plan to intercept Kirumi, and discussed what kind of tactics Kaito would come up with.

“Shuichi, you know him best - what’s his game?”

“Well I can’t say for sure…” Shuichi was thankful that the cold disguised his pink cheeks, “I think he’d make the first move. I mean- he’ll rely on aggressive maneuvers to catch us by surprise. We should be careful, even here.”

As he finished explaining, a hefty snowball cracked into the barricade behind him. Tsumugi yelped and Kokichi took off running with a laugh.

“Th-they’re coming! Remember your stations, people!” Tenko narrowly dodged another snowball as she peeked over the wall.

A battlecry tore across the field. Shuichi grinned, adrenaline pumping for the first time in a while.

* * *

 

Kaito charged over the trench, scanning his eyes across the park.  His team seemed to be following his plan for the most part, half splitting off to distract and recruit Gonta. The rest had begun their assault. He threw another snowball towards where the opposition were starting to react.

A head popped up near where the snowball impacted, a familiar hat searching for the source. He made a ‘come at me’ gesture at Shuichi, who stared blankly at him for a moment. Was that too far…?

Then Kibo and Miu’s flank chased the rest of Shuichi’s team out of their barricade, a series of shrieks and loud laughs turning the battlefield into chaos. Kaito lost track of Shuichi as he dodged a volley of attacks from both Maki and Angie. He was easily caught up in the spirit of competition, returning fire, and throwing some fighting talk.

As the two teams fought, snowballs were launched from every direction. The walls crumbled, Angie’s statues became fodder, and before long, it was every man for himself.

Gonta and Himiko retreated to build a safety igloo, defended viciously by Tenko. Korekiyo and Maki soon lost interest, and Kirumi was none too happy when Kaede came out with a bruise on her forehead. Ryoma remained undefeated.

Kaito was crouched behind a snow lump and cherishing the last of Kibo’s ammo stockpile. He was breathing hard, creating puffs of fog in the cold air. With all this running and messing around, he could barely feel the cold - if anything, the snow stopped him from overheating.

He heard a light laugh nearby. Footsteps crunching on the other side of his cover. Kaito grinned, scooped up a snowball, fully expecting Miu or Kokichi trying to get the drop on him.

“It won’t be that easy, y’know,” Kaito spun round, aiming his shot- “Shuichi?!”

The moment he hesitated, it was over. Shuichi was beaming with a pure happiness, throwing Kaito so off-guard, he earned a snowball to the face. He staggered, sputtering, throwing his snowball at Shuichi halfheartedly.

“I expected more from the Luminary of the Stars.”

“You-! What-, damn, Shuichi!” Kaito brushed snow out of his beard. “Is this how it ends? My sidekick turns against me?”

Shuichi tossed his snowball in the air and caught it. “Any last words?”

He was too giddy to respond. Shuichi’s shameless smile was so  _cute_ , long lashes resting on bright pink cheeks, sugary snow dusting his dark fringe. His eyes were alight with a surprise competitive streak.

“Wh-whaddaya say we team up? You and I can take out the rest, easy!”

Shuichi seemed to consider his request, rolling the snowball in his hands. Kaito put his hands up in surrender and took a couple hesitant steps towards him.

“Hey…Shuichi… We’d make a great pair, right?”

Kaito worried for a second when Shuichi’s gaze dropped, cheeks getting redder. He held his breath. When Shuichi looked back up, his eyes went wide.

“Behind you Kaito!”

In an instant, he turned around, finding Kokichi dual-wielding snowballs with a sinister grin. He ducked, throwing himself behind the snowbank. As he went, he grabbed Shuichi’s hand and pulled him with him. One of Kokichi’s shots flew over their heads.

Kaito squeezed Shuichi’s hand, their faces inches apart. “Knew you’d have my back! Now go and get that bastard.”

Shuichi nodded wordlessly, lingering in Kaito’s warmth for a moment longer.  He squeezed Kaito’s hand back in a rush of affection. Then Kaito stood up, waving his arms at Kokichi and yelling. His hand felt cold without Shuichi’s.

“Hey! Over heeere!”

Taking the signal, Shuichi made a dash for the flank.

* * *

 

Everyone was frozen and exhausted by mid-afternoon. They went back to the college common room, ushered by Kirumi’s promise of hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies. Scarves, hats, gloves, and boots were abandoned at the doorstep. Kibo spent five minutes unwrapping, and everyone’s skin was dusted pink after coming in from the cold. After some chilled out music, chatter, and sweets, eventually the group started dropping back to their own rooms.

Due to the limited supply of blankets, Kaito had absolutely insisted that Shuichi share a space, curled on the couch beside him. There was still a decent distance between them, but Shuichi felt himself leaning into Kaito’s ever-present warmth. Over time, the distance slimmed, but Shuichi was sure he hadn’t moved at all.

The room became a much smaller group of friends by evening. Shuichi was dozing, barely keeping himself awake; Kaito, Kaede, and Kokichi were arguing over music taste; Rantaro and Maki finished off the snacks, sharing glances when someone said something dumb.

When he woke up, Shuichi had no idea how long he’d been sleeping. His head was leaning on Kaito’s shoulder, a spot that was so warm, soft, and comfortable, that he didn’t want to move. Only when he realised where he was did he sit up, face flushing.

Shuichi became acutely aware of his space, of Rantaro and Maki catching his eyes, and Kokichi snickering from behind a cushion. The conversation carried on as normal, but Kaito was pretending he hadn’t noticed. He had to be.

He yawned dramatically, planning his escape. “Well, I should probably head back. I’m getting kinda tired…”

“How can you still be tired?” Kokichi frowned at him. “You’ve been asleep for three hours now.”

“It was like two minutes,” Maki interjected, saving Shuichi from a heart attack.

“Ah…all the more reason to call it a night…”

He stood up and said goodnight to everyone, missing Kaito’s blanket and body heat with a shiver down his spine.  Kaito was unusually quiet, only offering a smile and a nod as he left. Shuichi’s heart sank. It looked like he’d made things awkward between them now.

* * *

 

When Shuichi left the room, Rantaro threw a cushion at Kaito.

“Hey! What was that for?”

Rantaro rolled his eyes. “You spend all day giving him gooey eyes, he falls asleep on your shoulder, and you’re just gonna let him walk away like that?”

“You’re breaking  _my_  heart right now, Kaito,” Kokichi whined.

Kaito rubbed his temple, looking for Maki and Kaede for help. Maki shook her head and Kaede pointed at the door.

“Go on. Or I’ll never forgive you.”

He hesitated for a moment longer, then without looking back, he jumped up to follow Shuichi.

* * *

 

Footsteps filled the corridor but Shuichi didn’t dare turn around, until he heard his voice behind him.

“Shuichi.”

Kaito sounded a little more serious than his usual tone. Shuichi put on a sheepish smile.

“Hey. Sorry about earlier, that was pretty embarrassing…”

“It’s fine, man, I don’t mind,” Kaito gave him a thumbs up and a grin. “My shoulders’ always here for my sidekick.”

Shuichi didn’t meet his eyes. “Yeah… Thanks, Kaito. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Alright!” His enthusiasm fell into the quiet corridor, creating an uneasy pause between them, before Shuichi turned to leave.

“Damn it– wait, Shuichi! I should be the one to know that communication is the most important thing in a team. Especially between friends.”

A breath caught in Shuichi’s throat. He waited for Kaito to continue, too nervous to reply, the heat of swirling emotions in his chest becoming sickly.

“So we should talk. Cuz you’re my best friend, and I wanna make sure everything’s good between us.”

“Everything’s fine.” His voice was quiet enough that Kaito almost missed it.

Kaito stepped towards him, concern on his face. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Why would anything be wrong?”

They held each other’s gaze for what felt like a minute. Kaito searched Shuichi for any hint of truth, for any reason he was keeping himself at a distance. Shuichi returned it with stubborn refusal. Kaito sighed.

“If you say so, then I trust you. I’m here for you if you need me, alright?”

Shuichi nodded, tearing his eyes away from the taller man. As soon as he figured out whatever he was feeling, he could talk to Kaito. For now…

“I had a lot of fun today, with you, and everyone else.”

“Yeah!” Kaito beamed, “It got kinda crazy, but hanging out with everyone was the best thing I could ask for. I’m, uh, really glad you had a good time.”

“Me too. Let’s do more stuff like that,” Shuichi mustered a smile to match Kaito’s.

“I’ll let you get some sleep. Message me if you need anything. See ya tomorrow for training!”

They parted ways - Shuichi spending the rest of the night thinking too hard, and Kaito going back to his room without facing the others. It snowed again during the night, but neither of them noticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for stopping by!! please leave kudos/comments if u liked, i think there'll be more to come <3


	15. Saimota - Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wow! another saimota prompt from my blog @hinasouda?

Spring finally bloomed on Hope’s Peak academy, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, and exams were right around the corner.

Shuichi was studying over lunch with a few of his friends.  He, Kaito, and Maki shared a table with Korekiyo and Rantaro in the busy dining hall - Kiyo was lecturing no one in particular about his current favourite topic of anthropology.

“While its fame is accredited to the English Victorian era, floriography has been practiced in many different cultures for thousands of years, taking root in the Ottoman empire. Even today, flower arrangements are used to convey messages, most often romantic in nature…”

Rantaro nodded absently, and Kaito seemed deep in thought, probably working through his astronomy textbook. Shuichi tuned out the rest of Kiyo’s lesson, unwilling to let himself think on romantic matters while studying. He and Kaito had returned to their usual easy friendship - Kaito’s sidekick, any other feelings or flirting forgotten.

But sometimes, Shuichi still found himself wondering…

Kaito shifted beside him and Shuichi ignored the flutter in his chest as their knees brushed for a second. He smothered that line of thought. The notes in his book suddenly became the most interesting thing in the world, focusing on an example case, taking notes, and nothing but studying. It almost worked.

* * *

 

Shuichi found the first flowers as he left his room the next day. Tucked into his newspaper box, three short, delicate white and lilac flowers, and one yellow flower with a thick stem.

At first, he wondered if they were for his roommate, Ryoma. He left for his class two hours ago - he probably would’ve taken them or mentioned it, at least. It’d be worth asking him later. Was this the act of a secret admirer?

Then Shuichi remembered yesterday at lunch, when Kiyo had been talking about flowers for a whole hour. Maybe it was a coincidence, but Shuichi was still curious. Before plucking them from the box, he took a picture, and sent it to Kiyo. Thankfully, he responded soon.

10:31am  
Shuichi: hey sorry for the random text - do you know what these are?  
Korekiyo: Those are flowers, detective.  
Shuichi: ok, yeah, they are  
Shuichi: do you recognise which kind they are?

10:33am  
Korekiyo: From my textbook, you appear to have violets and a crocus.  
Shuichi: thanks :)

10:36am  
Shuichi: do they have a special meaning or anything?  
Korekiyo: Crocuses are very positive flowers. They can mean happiness, cheer, and a wish for success.  
Korekiyo: Violets depend on the colour. The white means innocence, while the purple means you are in someone’s thoughts.  
Korekiyo: I have to wonder, are you sending these to a suitor? Perhaps I could help you define a better meaning.  
Shuichi: oh, no, i found them outside my door this morning. was just curious. thanks again, kiyo!

He chewed on his lip. It was even cheesier than he expected, and Shuichi almost regret asking. Based off his reaction, he could clear Kiyo from the current list of suspected senders. Unless it was a stranger, or someone else who studied anthropology, then he guessed it was one of his friends. More likely, someone he was sitting with yesterday.

That meant Rantaro, Maki, or Kaito.

Shuichi couldn’t imagine Kaito or Maki to be the type to send flowers, especially to him. Maki wasn’t the romantic type, and Kaito would just say what he wanted to say, without some cryptic present.

For now, Rantaro was at the top of the suspect list. He’d ask Ryoma about it, too, just in case. Shuichi left the flowers in a coffee cup filled with water before heading to his class.

* * *

 

Shuichi found the second flower during a lecture. He was copying charts from his textbook, when Rantaro tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

“Hey, Shuichi! How are you doing?”

He had to turn all the way around to face him. “I’m alright, thanks… Do you, ah, need something?”

“Do I need something…?” Rantaro tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Uh, yes! I need a hand with the problem we’re working on. I don’t understand this, um, equation stuff.”

He opened a page in the textbook, leaning over, and pointed at an equation. Rantaro ignored Shuichi’s suspicious look. Every time he went to turn back, he quickly asked another question. He wasn’t happy until Shuichi explained everything twice.

“Thanks, Shuichi, I get it now.” Rantaro had a somewhat-nervous grin. Shuichi nodded, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

When he looked back at his notes, there was a single yellow daffodil resting on the page. Everything else was the same; no one was standing nearby, the lecture was going on as normal. He shot a glance at Rantaro. He was avoiding his eyes, apparently completely focused on the lecture.

Shuichi picked up the flower and twirled it in his fingers. That narrowed his list of suspects some more, as Rantaro had a strong alibi. At least he was sure what kind this was.

The search result gave him a few words: admiration, vitality, and new beginnings.

Rantaro caught Shuichi smiling right up to the end of the class.

* * *

 

Shuichi didn’t find the third flowers until after his classes the next day.

In the morning, he got up early with a feeling of anticipation. It was no guarantee that he’d receive any more flowers, but he kept his ear out for anyone outside, and decided on how to further find the culprit. Only Kaito and Maki were left.

“Jeez, what’s got you up so early?”

He startled as he was making tea. “Ryoma! I-I’m just waiting for something.”

“Like a parcel?” Ryoma pulled his hat on, readying to go to his morning class.

“Well, remember I mentioned those flowers yesterday? I thought, if that person comes by again…”

“You’ll catch em in the act? Heh, you’re the detective, I guess…”

Shuichi pouted. “What would you do?”

“Talk to them. Don’t give me that look, I know you probably know a few people it could be… But I think you’ve got a pretty good idea who it is.”

Ryoma chuckled as Shuichi finished pouring his tea in silence. Out of the final two suspects, neither seemed likely. He  _wanted_  it to be Kaito. Was he letting his feelings interfere in a case? No, he’d prove it today.

“…Thanks, Ryoma.”

“Yeah, no problem, kid. I’ll see you later.” The door shut behind him, and Shuichi slumped into a chair. He spent a little time thinking if there was possibly anyone else who’d send him flowers, before drinking his tea and going back to bed.

He caught up with Maki later, between lectures. Time for the last step in his plan.

“Hey, Maki. Do you know if there’s a florist, or like a botany lab near the campus?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. “I have no idea. Do you think  _I’d_  know where something like that was?”

Shuichi couldn’t help beaming at her, feeling light in his step.

“Ah, that’s a shame. Say, do you know where Kaito is?”

“No,” she narrowed her eyes at him. “Why, are you buying him flowers or something? What’s gotten into you?”

He remembered to breath. “Nothing! No, that’s… I’ll tell you later, okay?”

Maki only rolled her eyes and watched him practically skip to his next class. Unfortunately, that good mood didn’t last much longer. Shuichi saw no sign of Kaito all day, nor of any new flowers, and he was starting to think he’d gotten his hopes up.

Only as he returned to his room, trying to hide his disappointment, he saw two flowers sitting in his newspaper box. A red tulip and a yellow tulip - another of the few flowers he knew on sight.

Shuichi’s heart soared. He added them to the coffee cup with the rest, which was beginning to look like a bright bouquet. Shuichi was too occupied thinking about how to bring up the flowers with Kaito, and neglected to research their meaning.

* * *

 

The fourth flower took Shuichi by surprise. He bumped into it on the way to the library.

“Oh Sh-Shuichi!” Kaito was stunned, one hand hidden behind his back.

He kept a cool face. “Hey Kaito. Where’re you headed to?”

“Ah, nowhere really, just taking something somewhere, y’know…”

Shuichi thought he looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, his face flushing bright red. It was kind of adorable.

“Well…I just thought I’d tell you…” Shuichi broke into a grin, “my favourite flowers are actually lilies.”

For a moment, Kaito was going to protest, but he laughed instead. Rubbing his neck nervously, he kept his other hand behind his  back.

“So the jig is up, huh? I should’ve known the resident detective would figure me out easily.”

“What- why did you…?” At this point, Shuichi wasn’t sure what to say.

“Why’d I do it? I got the idea from Kiyo, and I thought…it’d be fun, and you’d get a puzzle to solve. I, uh, like seeing you smile.”

Now Shuichi was blushing furiously, as well as Kaito.

“Damn it, Kaito, you’re too…cute…” He brought his hand to his face, muffling the last word.

Kaito ducked his head. “Hm, what’d you call me?”

“I said you’re too cheesy.”

“Guess I got that coming,” he chuckled. “Sorry if it came off as creepy, or anything.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s made my week, really.” Week, month, year, who could say?

“Oh! Here.”

As if remembering, Kaito pulled his hand from behind him, and stepped forward to present Shuichi with a small bloom of pale pink rose-like flowers. He glanced around, checking they were alone, and gently pressed them into Shuichi’s hand.

“They’re no lilies, but they’re my favourite flower. Might as well finish the collection, right?”

“Y-yeah…thanks…” Shuichi felt like he might keel over any second.

“Are you alright? Was it too much? Sorry, I guess I got carried away and…”

Shuichi shook his head. “I-I’ve just never been given flowers before. They’re, um, really nice.”

“I’m glad,” Kaito sighed in relief, then took a step back. “I should get to class.”

“Kaito. I am really happy.”

They shared a flustered smile as people started to move through the corridor. Shuichi clutched the flowers, and Kaito spoke in a low voice.

“I’m happy when my best friend is happy. Remember, I’m always here for you. If you wanna…talk.”

He felt his palms sweating and his head buzzing. He could do it right now…  _But what if that ruined everything?_  Shuichi only nodded. Kaito gave him a thumbs up with a dazzling smile, then went to his class.

Back in his room, Shuichi kept the all of the flowers in the coffee cup for as long as he could, changing the water everyday. They wilted eventually, but he had almost made up his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the tulips mean ‘confession’, and the last ones are lisianthus - i’ll let u guys figure that out ;p
> 
> leave kudos or comments if you liked<3

**Author's Note:**

> ♥


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